


Magic is Family Business

by murmeltearding



Series: Magic [1]
Category: Kate Daniels - Ilona Andrews, Supernatural
Genre: Amulets, Angry Sex, Beer, Blood, Blood Kink, Blood Magic, Blood and Injury, Books, Breakfast, Canon-Typical Violence, Cats, Cookies, Crack, Dirty Jokes, Domestic Fluff, Dress Up, Drinking, F/M, Fear, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Healing, Healing herbs, Humiliation, Lies, Light Bondage, Loss of Limbs, Magic, Magic Concoctions, Magical Artifacts, Magical Tattoos, Making Up, Mild Language, Shapeshifters - Freeform, Smut, Spells & Enchantments, Stabbing, Vampires, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-07-24 16:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16179005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murmeltearding/pseuds/murmeltearding
Summary: Dean owns an autoshop next to Ira's Magic store.One day, Ira finds a weird Amulet on one of her foraging trips. Before she can find out what it even is, it gets stolen.Sam has recognised it though and they quickly figure out its not a good thing to leave an item like that in the hands of the wrong people.Also: Dean falls in love with Mia, the waitress at his favorite Diner after they save each other's respective asses one evening.Strong girls, strong guys, lots of adventure!





	1. Spells, Items& Crap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ira finds a mysterious amulet on one of her scavenging trips. There's something about it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just the setup for the story. There will be more chapters, many more probably... with fluff and smut and violence, I'm also planning on Crowley and Castiel making appearances and probably charakters from the Kate Daniels Series too... I'll go where the story takes me though.

„Dean? Can you watch the store for an hour? There was a Vamp Attack and I wanna go check the scene out! I’m all out of vampire teeth!”  
“Yea, yea, you go do your thing… I’ll be here anyways.”  
“Thank you!” I left the autoshop and and walked the few steps back to my own store, "Spells, Items&Crap".  
My store had been on Unicorn Lane for longer than anyone could remember. I had found it abandoned and decided to claim it, about 6 months ago.  
Unicorn had become one of the more weird places in town, since the first magic wave. Not many of the stores were in business anymore, simply because not many people wanted to come to Unicorn. It was considered a "bad" area by most people. I was fine with that, since it kept a lot of idiots away. Idiots that would probably hurt themselves with most of the stuff I sold.  
Dean’s family had owned the autoshop next door as long as he could think. After the first magic wave, they had specialized in reconstructing cars so they ran on enchanted water as well as on gasoline, a necessity since magic had started hitting our world on a semi regular basis.  
I hadn’t yet gotten around to buying one of his cars yet and my bike ran during tech as well as during magic, so I was fine with it for now.  
Dean had told me a few people had tried moving into my store before me, but Unicorn hadn’t accepted them and had simply grinded their wares down to nothing, in one case over the course of one magic wave.  
I had been allowed to stay though, and once Unicorn accepted you as a resident, it protected you in its very own way… or so people said.  
I didn’t like putting my trust on a non sentient protector though, so I looked after myself. My machete in its sheath never left my thigh. The wards around my store protected my property during magic and the bars on the windows protected it during tech.  
My two cats, Kali and Boy wore magical amulets on their collars that made them a bit more useful than regular cats. They added to the overall protection, during magic.  
The few people and even fewer creatures that had tried to take what was mine, hadn’t had much luck. Some of them had been shut up permanently.  
I lived in the small flat over my shop, same as most of the inhabitants of Unicorn, same as Dean and his brother Sam. Dean had been very flirtatious towards me, since I moved in, a fact I was very flattered by, but I really didn’t feel the same way towards him. He felt more like a brother to me, despite having the body of a god and emerald green eyes you could lose yourself in.

I got my bike from the small garage at the backside of my store and started pedaling. Various glyphs I had painted on it prevented it from being stolen during magic. During tech, I had to rely on a good old fashioned chain and lock.  
The magic was up right now, but I took the chain with me anyways. One could never tell when tech would hit.  
I barely paid the city around me any attention as I cycled past. Magic did weird stuff to man-made structures. Most tall buildings had collapsed or looked like they’d collapse soon. Many people had left the city in the first years after magic came back. The countryside was supposed to be safer, easier to live in, but I had always been more of a city person so I hadn't considered moving away for even a second.  
It was early evening and the sun hung low in the west, warming my back as I went eastwards. I had a couple of informants in town that helped supply my store, in exchange for a percentage of my profits.  
Whenever a weird creature showed up, someone would see something and let me know. I rarely killed anything myself since my magic was of a passive nature and I didn’t much enjoy getting hurt. As soon as something died by itself or by the hand of someone else though, I’d be there to collect the things that were left behind.  
I wasn’t the only one who tried to scavenge stuff, so speed was of the essence.  
My brand of magic allowed me to see items of power. Every kind of magic showed up in front of my inner eye in a different color. The more powerful an item was, the brighter it shone.

I saw the crime scene from afar. Vampire scenes were bloody messes most of the time, since vampires were proper killing machines. They were usually navigated by necromancers and whenever a Vamp got loose, it simply didn’t stop killing until it was killed.  
I could see the two messy heaps that had been bloodthirsty nightmares only hours earlier on the ground. Their skin was magic too, but not potent enough to be of interest for me. I was here for their teeth. Ground up, the powder could be used for a variety of spells. Being a quite hard to acquire, I could make good money selling them.  
The Vamps couldn’t have been killed by Knights of the Order or the bodies would be gone by now. The Order was kind of the magical police force in post magic Atlanta. They usually didn’t leave messes like that. I looked around, before quickly setting my bike aside and hurrying towards the creatures, trying very hard not to see the blood and goo everywhere around. I had to be quick about getting what I came here for, since a cleanup crew was probably already on their way.  
I grabbed the small toolkit I carried with me wherever I went from my bag and crouched down next to the first vampire. It’s skin was purple from the sunblock that had been generously applied by its owner.  
I pulled on a rubber glove and got my pliers. Getting the teeth out without making a mess of myself was a skill I had learned quickly after starting in my line of work.  
One of the fangs was broken off, but the other three were perfect. I made my way to the second Vamp, before packing up and taking one last look around the scene. There was something shiny – magically shiny – on the other side of the street and I quickly picked it up as well before leaving.

On my way back, I passed the Cleanup Crew on their horse pulled cart. I knew the two guys from previous encounters but resisted the urge to wave at them. They didn’t feel particularly friendly towards me.

 

Half an hour later I sat behind the counter in my store and examined the small amulet that had caught my eye. It probably didn’t look special at all to someone without my brand of magic, but to me, it was blindingly bright. To everyone else, it was a small brass face with a spiral on the forehead and weird horns protruding from its sides, dangling on a leather band.  
My ginger-cat Boy sniffed the amulet once before demanding I make space for him on my lap and settling down.  
It was dark by now and only the feylanterns on the walls illuminated the room. No use trying to examine the amulet in their gloomy light.  
I got up and was about to lock the store for the night, when Sam and Dean showed up outside.  
“Hey! You’re back!” Dean said.  
“Yea, got back a few minutes ago.” I lied. I knew I should have let him know I was back. He had become quite protective of me over the last few months.   
“We were about to get something to eat. You wanna tag along?”  
“Yea, sure!” I said, “let me just put this in the safe, then I'm good to go.”  
I took the amulet from the counter and was about to walk towards the back room, when Sam stopped me.  
“Can I see it?” he said, gently touching my upper arm.   
“Sure! Be careful with it though… there’s something about it, that makes me a bit… it feels a bit weird.”  
He took it by the leather band and let it dangle in front of his eyes, careful not to touch the item itself.  
I had gotten protective tattoos all over my hands and up my arms, after almost losing my hand from picking up a cursed dagger years ago. They had cost me an arm and a leg – figuratively – but they were worth their money. Until now, I had yet to find another item that could harm me accidentially.

I plucked the amulet from Sam’s fingers after letting him squint at it for a while and carried it into the back room to put it into the safe. I didn't know what exactly it was, but the bright blue shine it emanated told me it was extremely potent. I could still see it through the closed safe door. This would not do!  
Shaking my head, I opened the safe again and put the amulet into a leaden box. Lead was the second best magical insulation there was, only gold was better. I was well enough off, financially speaking, but not well enough to own boxes made of pure gold for purely practical reasons... or any reason at all, really.  
I snapped the lead lid shut and finally couldn't see the amulet's magic through anymore.  
The brothers watched me wordlessly, but Dean was obviously annoyed with me for taking so long.  
He was hungry and when Dean was hungry, he needed his food. I should probably have put the lead box into the safe, but I didn't want to make the guys wait any longer. Plus the box was heavy and I was lazy. So I left it on the small table in the back room.  
We'd only be gone for an hour at most, so it would probably be okay.  
"Take care of the store." I said to Kali, my other cat, who was sleeping in the front window, before motioning to the guys to go outside and following them.  
I felt the wards snap shut behind me, as I stepped out on the street.  
“Diner?” I asked. Dean nodded. We went there at least twice a week. The food was good and the beer was cheap, what more was there to want?  
Sam was walking behind us. It felt kinda nice, walking through the night with two huge guys next to me. Not that I couldn't defend myself, but when I was out after dark all alone, I usually did my best, trying not to look too feminine, wearing baggy clothes, making sure my hair was hidden, but now....  
I pulled the tie out of my hair and let my fingers glide through the strands, grinning.  
"What are you doing?" Dean asked, a confused smile on his face.  
"Enjoying walking with two huge bodyguards. Feels kinda nice."  
Sam chuckled behind us. "As if you'd need us to look after you. That machete looks menacing."  
"That’s part of its charm." I grinned, slowing down a bit, so I could walk next to him. The smile on his face felt like the first sunny day in spring after a long dark winter. We had known each other for months now, but the effect still dazzled me every time.

 

The Diner was mostly empty when we arrived a few minutes later. The interior looked like it was straight out of the 50’s. Genuine not vintage, including ripped up seatcushions and broken tiles on the floor. It was comfortable nonetheless.   
Mia, the waitress knew us on sight and started pulling beer.   
"Burgers too?" she asked.  
"Two burgers, one salad." Dean told her.  
We sighed in unison at Sam's choice of food, but I decided to let it go. I should probably make smarter food choices as well, but the burgers here were simply too good.  
We sat in our usual booth, Dean and Sam opposite of me. Looking at the two of them next to each other was quite something and I couldn't help but notice Mia's dreamy gaze when she brought us our beers.

  
I told the guys about the vampire scene while we ate and about how odd I found it, that the amulet had simply been lying there on the street.  
Dean told us about a gorgeous blonde who had comissioned him to rebuild her car. His eyes got all dreamy talking about her. I rolled my eyes at him and Sam chuckled. There always was a gorgeous blonde or a leggy brunette with him.   
Once we finished our food, Mia brought Dean some pie and joined us at our table. "Two more hours." she whispered, rolling her eyes.  
I chuckled, sympathetically. "Once I open a second branch of my store, you can be the manager there. No more nightshifts for you then." I promised and put my arm around her shoulders.  
"Thank you." she said and rested her head against mine for a second, before she got up again. A couple had just walked in.

Magic fell without a warning and the feylanterns on the walls shut down. It took a few seconds before the electric lights went on, illuming the Diner much brighter than before. I squinted to give my eyes time to adjust.  
"I think I didn't lock my door." I murmured, quickly getting up. As long as the magic had been up, the wards and my cats would protect my home, but with magic down, there was nothing stopping whoever pleased to walk into my place. "I'll be back in a few. Order me another beer!" I said and quickly made my way outside.  
The harsh light of the streetlamps showcased how broken the city really was. There were weeds growing all over the cracked street and the many abandoned houses looked way worse than they did in the softer light of the feylanterns. Magic never went down fully on Unicorn Lane. Noone knew exactly why. We accepted it as just one more of the weird things magic did. The trees along the street, meticulously groomed before the first magic wave were huge now and their roots broke up the asphalt in a couple of places. Everything green thrived through magic and I felt much stronger during magic too. If I had to choose, I'd choose magic over technology every day of the week.

I hurried back to my place, my steps echoing eerily through the empty street. I heard music playing somewhere and a few windows were illuminated, but I was the only person outside.  
When I reached my store, I stopped dead. The front door was slightly ajar. Fuck.  
I swallowed, as I gripped my machete. During magic, my cats would protect everything, but during tech, they were just normal cats and couldn't do shit. I prayed to all the gods they weren't hurt.  
I pushed the door open slowly, so the chimes wouldn't make a noise. Someone was in the back room. Kali came running towards me as if she wanted to tell me something. She didn't seem hurt. I sent a silent prayer of thanks skywards.  
Something slammed shut in the back room and shoes were shuffling on the tile floor. I walked through the store on silent feet, but Boy chose that exact moment to come towards me and noisily demanded cuddles. "Not now." I hissed, pushing him away with my foot. I didn't even look down at him for a second, but that second was enough time for the intruder to rush out of the back room, push me to the side and rush past me, out the door.  
He pushed me hard enough so I stumbled and tripped over Boy, hitting my head on the counter on my way down. 

I don't know how long I was out, but when I opened my eyes the next time, Dean was staring down at me.  
"What happened?" he asked, worry tinting his voice.  
"I... " I blinked a few times, feeling confused. "Someone broke in..." I murmured. "He pushed me and I tripped over Boy. Where is Boy?" I sat up and looked around. Stars danced around the edges of my vision.  
Upon hearing his name, Boy's head appeared on top of the counter. He jumped down on me and started kneading my tummy with his paws. He was alright. Praise the gods.  
I gently nudged him off of me and got up, leaning against Dean. I was a bit dizzy and my head throbbed, but I'd live.  
Making my way to the back room, I knew exactly what'd expect me there.  
Closing my eyes in annoyance, I stopped in the doorway. The lead box still was where I had left it, but it was open and the amulet was gone.  
"Fuck!" I punched the wall in annoyance. I could have made a fortune of that amulet.

 


	2. Amulet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ira and Sam find out more about the stolen Amulet and make a plan to get it back.  
> They call in an expert...

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs. Forget about that Amulet.” Dean tried ushering me towards the slim staircase in the back room.  
“Why would anyone bother breaking in and take nothing but it though?” I wondered, stopping in the middle of the room, “I mean… who would even know I had it?”  
Sam, being a Knight of the Order was investigating the crime scene, but there were no traces of anything. The wards were down now, but I would have felt it, if anyone had broken them. The intruder must have waited for Magic to fall and then simply walked right in and taken what he wanted. I cursed myself for not locking the door. I might as well have put all my stuff outside for anyone to take. Stupid!  
“Is anything else missing?” Sam asked.  
I looked around, but couldn’t find anything amiss. The safe was still locked, but I opened it and checked it too, just to make sure. “Nope, nothing.”  
I gathered some herbs and made myself a cup of tea for my headache under Deans scrutinizing gaze, while Sam looked around some more.  
“We’ll have to wait for Magic, maybe Kali can tell us what happened.” he finally said. Kali had gone back to her spot next to the door and lifted her head at the sound of her name.  
I nodded and sighed.  
“I’ll stay with you for the night.” Sam added. “Just in case he comes back.”  
“I’ll go tell Mia you’re okay! She was worried.” Dean said and walked towards the exit. He knew you were save if Sam stayed with you.  
“Thanks you guys.” I said. “But you really don’t have to… I can call Mia and I don’t need anyone looking after me.”  
“Yea, you do.” Sam would have none of it and I knew it was useless fighting him once he had set his mind to something.  
“I’ll make sure Mia gets home safely.” Dean said and walked towards the exit. "You take care of her!" he said to Sam, before stepping outside. I rolled my eyes. It was almost ridiculous how protective the guys were.  
“Will do.” Sam said and locked the door behind Dean.  
I carefully climbed the stairs with the mug in my hands. I still felt a bit shaky, but I’d survive.

My apartment wasn’t big, but it was enough for me.  
I had a small living room with a bay window that looked out on the street over my store. The room was filled with shelves upon shelves of books. Towards the back, there was kitchen area through which two doors led to the bedroom and to the bathroom. My bedroom wall was adjacent to Sam and Deans flat, to Dean’s bedroom, to be precise. This led to quite a few sleepless nights for me, when he had overnight visitors and lots of teasing for him on the next day. Jokes aside though, it was kinda nice knowing he was right next to me if I needed anything.  
We’d had quite a few chats leaning out of our respective bedroom windows. It was nice and intimate in a way, even though the whole neighborhood could probably hear us. We had discussed breaking through the walls in the living room so we didn’t have to go outside to visit, but finally decided against it, for privacy reasons.  
I liked both of the guys, but it felt kinda odd, knowing they could just come in whenever they pleased. Not that it would change much, since they had a key to my place, but still.  
There was a fireplace smack in the middle of my flat, so I could heat every room through it. Central heating was nice, but didn’t quite work during magic.  
I sat down on the Sofa, placing my mug on the coffeetable. My head throbbed. “Stupid cat.” I murmured but let my fingers glide through Boy’s soft fur anyways. He had, of course, followed us upstairs and lay snuggled up next to me.  
Sam was looking through my books. “Didn’t you have a copy of the Encyclopedia Magica?” he asked, when he didn’t find what he was searching for.  
“Yea… it’s over there.” I pointed to my desk. “What do you need it for?”  
“I think I’ve seen that Amulet before.” he murmured absentmindedly, as he started looking through the book.  
“Seriously? I mean… it looked powerful, but if it’s in there… fuck!” only the oldest and most powerful items made it into the Encyclopedia. I walked to the desk, where he leaned over the volume and scanned the pictures with him. The book was old and worn. I’d inherited it from my grandmother, same as most of my other books. I had lived with her from my birth, to her death last year. My parents had been notably absent all my life. 

“There it is!” Sam finally said and stopped flipping through the pages. There was a bleary, but clearly recognizable painting of my stolen amulet.  
“Are you fucking shitting me?” I exclaimed and put my hand to my forehead. “I owned the Amulet of Kabedaya and let it get stolen?” I had to sit down and take a few deep breaths. I had of course heard of the Amulet before, but hadn't known what it looked like. If legends were true, the Amulet would give the wearer the power to use Magic even when Tech was up.  
“If it falls into the wrong hands…” Sam murmured.  
"The Order being those wrong hands?" I continued, getting his drift. Everyone knew the Order was rotten to its core and couldn't be trusted with safeguarding something as powerful as the Amulet of Kabedaya. How Sam could keep working for them was beyond me, but he said if all the good Knights left, it would never get better and I couldn't argue with that.  
"Among others" he agreed absentmindedly.  
Seemed like if we wanted to do something about it, we'd have to do it ourselves. I inwardly cursed myself for my laziness. If only I had put the Amulet into the safe!  
“We have to get it back.” Sam said.  
“But where do we start? And what are we gonna do with it once we have it? I mean... it got stolen once already.” I thought out loud. He was the pro at that kind of thing after all.  
“Well, since Kali is our only witness, we’ll wait till magic is up and then go from there.” Sam decided. "And once we have it, we'll destroy it, of course."  
I didn't feel entirely comfortable destroying something so old and powerful, but for now I agreed with him. Maybe we could figure out a way to keep it save once we had it. I hugged my knees and rested my head on top. This was kinda big.  
Sam sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “We’ll figure this out.” he said and pulled me close.  
I rested my head against his chest and sighed. He was right.

We stayed like that for a while before I got up up, rubbing my eyes. “I need to go to bed or I'll fall asleep right here. Do you wanna sleep out here or in bed with me?” I asked, pointing at the sofa. Sam and I had spent a night together shortly after I had moved in next to them. We had agreed though, that we probably wouldn’t work out as a couple, with him working for the Order and me being kind of a persona non grata with them. This didn’t keep us from spending nights together occasionally though. Sometimes with nothing but cuddles, sometimes having sex. It was nice with him, even though I didn’t understand what he wanted with me. He looked like a greek god, while I was… well, simply me.  
My hair was nice, I had to admit that, but compared to his mane, it looked downright shaggy. My body was average at best. I had a curvy figure, good ass, okay boobs. Sam was so far out of my league, I didn’t even know why he bothered with me.  
“I’ll have a shower as long as Tech is up.” I said, when he didn’t answer straight away.  
Getting hot water during Magic was possible, but involved a lot of chanting that I wasn’t willing to do if I could have it so much easier during Tech.

A few minutes later, I stepped out into the kitchen, dressed in the oversized t-shirt I wore for sleeping these days, hair atop my head in a towel. After the warm, steamy air in the bathroom, I shivered in the sudden cold of my kitchen and quickly made my way to the bedroom to get under the warm covers. A grin appeared on my face, when I found Sam in waiting for me.  
“Cooooooold!” I said and quickly climbed under the covers with him. Sleeping next to him was like sleeping wrapped in a radiator.  
Sam laughed when I snuggled up to him. My hair was still a little wet and I would probably regret leaving it like that in the morning, but that was a problem for future Ira to worry about.  
“This is so nice.” I whispered and pulled his arm over my body, snuggling close to him.  
I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes with his warm breath on my back.

When I woke up in the morning, Sam was gone, but Boy was keeping me company instead. Tech was still up. I tried hugging Boy and going back to sleep, but he would have none of it. Startled by the noise of Sam rummaging through my kitchen cabinets, the cat freed himself and ran outside.

“Good morning.” I murmured sleepily, rubbing my eyes, when I followed Boy to the kitchen a few minutes later.  
“Morning…” Sam said while continuing to open each of my cabinets, obviously searching for something.  
With a grin I opened one of the doors and took out my coffeemaker. “Are you looking for that?”  
“Why do you keep that in there? How am I supposed to find it there?” Sam ranted, before taking the coffeemaker from me and putting it on the stove.  
I gave the cats their breakfast and hammered my fist against my bedroom wall to let Dean know Breakfast was almost ready. This had started as a joke, but somehow it had become our daily ritual. Having breakfast together was much nicer than sitting at my table all alone.  
I dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a tanktop. Wriggling my toes a bit, I decided for a pair of handknit socks, since winter was around the corner and I got cold feet in my boots.  
I was slipping my jacket on, when Magic came back. It took me a moment to readjust, before walking back out in the kitchen.  
Sam was cursing over Tech falling, while he was making breakfast, when Kali came running up the stairs and excitedly jumped on the table, sitting on one of the plates Sam had already put out. She usually wasn’t allowed on the table, but was too excited to remember that now.  
She kept on meowing to make sure she had my attention.  
I rolled my eyes, gingerly took her out of the plate and walked to the bookshelves under my bay window with her. “Which one?” I asked, holding her so she could look at the books.  
Finding out the best way to communicate with her had been hard at first, but after some trial and error I had acquired a few children’s encyclopedia books and both Kali and I could work with that.  
She pulled at one of the books with her paw and I took it and put it on the floor in front of her, opening it to the very first page. Not wasting any time, she used her paws and claws to flip pages until she found the one with facial features on it. Looking through them, she pointed her nose at one with a scar and looked up at me. Okay, so the intruder had a scar. “Where?” I asked her. She came to me and put her paw on my lip, right under my nose. “Good, what else?” I said.  
She flipped the pages again with both paws. Sam sat at the table and watched us, while slowly eating his muesli. He had been fascinated by our technique since the first time he saw Kali tell me something she saw and he knew by now not to try to interfere. Kali had made it very clear she didn’t appreciate anyone but me helping her when she was doing her thing.  
She stopped at the page with the animals and pointed first at a fish, then at a lizard, then she scratched herself with her back paw.  
“Umm… some help here?” I looked at Sam.  
“Scaly skin?” he made a face and gestured with his hands, unsure.  
Kali looked at him and gave an annoyed meow for interfering, but then turned to me and nodded.  
“Did he have any weapons?” I asked. She seemed to think about that for a moment, but then shook her head again. “Anything else?” Once more, she flipped the pages, but couldn’t find what she was looking for. After hesitating for a second, she ran towards the trash can and scratched at it. I hated when she did that but opened the lid and let her have a good look inside nonetheless. She pawed at a couple of eggshells and looked back at me, before sneezing.  
“He smelled like eggs?” I was confused, but Kali nodded.  
“Okay, so we’re looking for a scarred dude with scaly skin that smells like eggs.” I summarized.  
“What now?” Dean suddenly said, coming up the stairs.  
“That’s what Kali saw.” I said.  
“Smelling of eggs?” Dean wondered. “Rotten eggs maybe? Sulfur?” he asked Kali. She didn’t pay any attention to him, but instead ran back to the book to flip the pages some more. When she got to the page with the animals, she licked the picture of a bunny and then ran to her bowl, looking at me to make sure I understood. “You wanna eat a bunny?” I asked, chuckling.  
She nodded, before she pawed at the kibbles in her bowl boredly. She ate a few, then took a sip of water and slowly walked towards the window, where she sat down and started cleaning herself. She was obviously done with giving her statement.  
I closed the book and put it back onto the shelf with the others. “I’ll see if I can find you some rabbit.” I said and scratched her between the ears, before joining the guys at the breakfast table.  
“You know what Sulfur means.” Dean said to Sam, all business despite the early hour.  
Sam nodded. “Should I call Crowley?”  
I looked between the two of them. “Umm… Sulfur means the guy was a Demon, right? And who’s Crowley?”  
“Just some guy we used to know…” Dean said mysteriously.  
Sam had walked towards my phone to check if it was working. You could never tell with phones. Most people didn’t understand how they worked, so it was practically magic to them. Magic seemed to feel the same way about phones, so they sometimes worked and sometimes just didn’t. We seemed to be in luck today. Sam dialed a number from memory and waited.  
“You know…” Dean murmured around a mouth full of bacon, “I’ve seen Kali do her thing a few times now, but I’ve never seen Boy do anything.”  
“What do you mean? Of course you have!” I was confused.  
“No, I think I would remember him doing something like that.” he insisted, pointing vaguely towards Kali and her Books.  
I smirked. “Boy?! Come here!” I called.  
He took a while, but finally came and jumped on my lap. I whispered in his ear to make sure Dean didn’t move, then I waited.  
Boy sat on my lap, his paws on the table, staring at Dean who sat opposite of me. Dean stared back at him. “So?” he said, not moving his gaze from the cat.  
I didn’t say anything, just continued eating in silence, while Sam talked to the mysterious Crowley on the phone, telling him to come here as soon as possible. Dean kept on staring at Boy.  
When Sam was done talking, he sat down at the table and had some more food.  
I tried finding out more about Crowley, but Sam wouldn’t tell me anything, just that Crowley would be here soon. When we were both done eating, Sam started cleaning off the table, always keeping watch at Dean.  
“Here, take him.” I said and handed the cat to Dean over the table, so I could get up and quickly do the dishes.  
Dean took Boy while keeping on staring at his eyes.  
Chuckling, I took my plate and cup to the sink, when a surge of power suddenly appeared outside on the street. It appeared black to my Magic vision.  
“Fuck” I whispered, as the plate I was carrying glided from between my fingers and shattered on the floor. Boy startled and ran away, which broke his spell on Dean. Sam ran the few steps towards me and caught me by the elbow, as I held on to one of the chairs to keep my balance.  
“What’s happening?” he asked.  
“There’s someone outside… fuck” I felt light headed, but slowly managed to adjust to all that power.  
I felt the tugging of my wards inside my head. Should I let them inside? The chimes downstairs announced him opening the door. “Moose?” someone shouted.  
“That’s Crowley.” Sam said to me. “Can you let him in?”  
I wasn’t sure I wanted to have someone so powerful in my store, but I trusted Sam and opened my wards to the stranger.  
His magic was so strong, I saw him move through the floorboards.  
“Who the fuck is that?” I asked, as I heard the steps creak under the weight of the new arrival.  
“That’s Crowley” Sam said with a sigh. “King of hell.”


	3. Betrayal and Revenge... and some smut!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ira decides she needs to get the amulet back at any price.  
> She gets to know Crowley a bit better than she probably wanted. Smut ensues.

"How dare you call me at this ungodly hour and then make me wait outside like a peasant!" Crowley raged, building himself up at the top of the stairs.  
I could barely look at him with how much power he emanated. He obviously didn't give a shit who knew about it and made not even the slightest effort to hide it. If I was as powerful as he was, I probably wouldn't either.  
"And a good Morning to you too." Dean said sarcastically, taking a sip from his coffee.  
"Yes, yes, enough with the pleasantries. What do you want?" Crowley’s face was twisted with anger.  
"One of your demons stole something of ours." Sam said. "We need to get it back."  
"And how does that concern me?"  
"Because that someone walked into Ira's store during Tech and stole her stuff. Shouldn't you keep your people under control?" Sam continued.  
"And why can't Ira talk for herself?" Crowley said, and it seemed like he took notice of me only now. I still held on to the chair and looked at the floor.  
"Your power makes my head hurt." I murmured, squinting at him.  
"Does it then?" he said and walked towards me.  
I averted my eyes again, but power radiated from him like heat from a flame and I could feel it all through my body... and then it stopped, just like that.  
"Better now, Dear?" he asked.  
I looked up at him and blinked a few times before answering. "Much better. Thank you."  
He wore a black dress shirt and coat and a frown. "So you're a sensate..." he said, walking around me, looking me up and down as if I was a piece of meat.  
The hairs at the back of my nape stood on end with fear, but something farther down inside of me reacted to him as well, there was no denying that.  
"Stop playing games, Crowley." Sam said, trying to shield me from Crowley by stepping in between the two of us.  
"Watch your mouth, Moose. Don't forget who you're talking to." Crowley shot at Sam, before addressing me again, "do you know what this particular demon looked like, Poppet?"  
"Well, umm... according to my sources, he had scaly skin and a scar right here.” I pointed at the spot under my nose. “Does anyone come to mind?" I stepped around Sam and faced Crowley. He had walked towards my sofa and slowly sat down, adjusting his pants legs as he did so. Kali was sniffing him curiously.  
"Maybe... but what's in it for me if I tell you?" he asked, letting his fingers glide through Kali’s soft fur.  
"How about we don't kill you." Dean said, standing up and walking towards him menacingly. Why was he so aggressive? I had never seen him like that.  
"Alright, that’s enough, Squirrel, out! Moose, you too. I'll talk to her, alone or not at all." Crowley's power flared up with his anger and I felt my skin prickle. I was glad, that anger wasn't directed at me.  
Sam looked at me questioningly, obviously not giving a shit about Crowley's feelings. I'd have to ask the guys how they knew him and why he seemed to hate them so much. For now, I knew I didn't really want to be alone with Crowley but felt like I didn’t have much of a choice. He was a scary bastard, but I'd play his game if it meant we'd get the Amulet.  
"I'll be alright." I said to the guys, somehow managing to keep my voice neutral.  
"You sure?" Dean said, putting his hand on my shoulder.  
I nodded.  
"If you need me, I'll be in the garage." he said and squeezed me to his chest with one arm, before walking down the stairs reluctantly.  
Sam kissed my forehead, before he followed his brother.

"Now... can you help me?" I asked after the chimes downstairs signaled Sam and Dean had left.  
A smirk appeared on Crowley’s face. He had his arms up on the backrest and his legs crossed and seemed entirely comfortable on my sofa. "I will, for a price. Come sit with me."  
I slowly walked towards him. He seemed civil enough and if he wanted to kill me, it probably wouldn't matter how close to him I was. "What do you want?" I nervously licked my lips as I sat down next to him. The way he let his gaze travel up and down my body made me feel uneasy, but also kind of... eager?  
"A kiss." he said, licking his lips as well.  
"A... kiss?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's it?"  
"That's it."  
"Well, do you want it right now or...." I didn't mind kissing him. He was kinda hot in a scary way.  
"Show me what you're looking for and I will get it. You'll pick it up in the evening. I'll take my payment then." he smirked.  
I nodded and got up to show him the picture of the Amulet in the encyclopedia. His offer seemed reasonable.  
"Oh and I want you to wear this..." he snapped his fingers and a red box with a black bow appeared on my coffee table. Kali, who had rolled up next to him startled and hid under the sofa.  
I stopped midstride and turned back around. "What?"  
"That's my price." he said and got up as well. He lifted the lid of the box and took out a silky looking black dress, holding it up by its thin straps. The skirt would end at about knee height.  
I wasn't sure if I liked the direction this was taking. Was I really that desperate to get that stupid Amulet back?  
I knew I couldn't leave it in the hands of a demon. As it was right now, demons could only travel from their world to ours during Magic. Once Tech was up, they had to stay where they were, powerless if they were in our world, but that would probably change if they had the Amulet...  
I sighed. "It probably won’t even fit me though."  
"Oh it will, trust me." he smirked.  
I decided not to fight him on that and turned back to get the book from my desk. Wearing a special dress and kissing him still wasn’t too bad.  
“So we have a deal?” I said, before opening the book.  
“Deal.” he agreed and offered his hand.  
His hands were much too soft for a man his size, but he probably didn’t do a lot of manual labor, being the Kind of Hell and all.  
Once the deal was sealed, I opened the book to the page with the Amulet. He came close and stood next to me, looking at the book. I startled, when I felt his hand on my waist, but he didn’t seem to care.  
“So you really had the Amulet of Kabedaya. I have to admit, if that’s true, I’m impressed. And I should have asked a higher price.” he chuckled. Now I had seen it all. I had actually made the King of Hell chuckle.  
“Well, as much as I enjoy your company, duty calls. I will pick you up at the Leypoint at sunset, provided Magic is still up.” Crowley said, once he knew what he had to do.  
“What if it isn’t?” I asked.  
“Then I’ll be back as soon as it is up again, Poppet.” he took a strand of my hair and let it glide through his fingers. When he reached the end of it, he turned around and left without another word. 

I tried getting through the day the way I always did. Working at my store, mixing up herbs, making hexbags, recharging crystals and telling wannabe witches to fuck off before they hurt themselves.  
Dean came over around midday and wanted to know about Crowley, but a customer came in and saved me from his interrogation. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want Sam and Dean to know about my rendezvous with Crowley.  
When it became late afternoon and Magic was still up, I went upstairs to get dressed.  
The dress fit me perfectly. It showcased my curves and hugged my hips. The waterfall neckline was a bit lower than I usually preferred, but I had to admit, it looked great.  
I left my hair down and brushed through it with my fingers. It fell around my face and down to my breasts in soft brown curls.  
Looking at myself in the mirror, I decided to put on some mascara. I usually didn’t wear makeup, but the dress made me feel great and I wanted to feel pretty for once.  
Considering for a moment, I sat down and lifted the skirt up, to draw a protective glyph on my thigh with black marker, just to be safe from any kind of spell Crowley might try on me. Then I got my black high heels from the very back of my closet and slipped them on, before admiring myself in the mirror one last time.  
I hadn’t dressed up like that in ages and for a moment I wondered why. Then I took a few steps in the shoes and remembered… ugh!  
When I was about to exit my store, I stopped in my tracks. I couldn’t walk to the Leypoint and riding my bike was out of the question too. Asking Dean to lend me a car would raise a lot of uncomfortable questions, but I didn’t really have another choice. Wrapping myself in my black cloak, I tottered the short distance to the garage and went inside. 

“Hey Dean? I need to borrow a car.”  
“Huh? What for?” I heard him, but couldn’t see where he was. His muffled voice came from somewhere in the back, quite possibly from underneath one of the cars. How he could work in the low light of the Feylanterns, was beyond me.  
“I need to go somewhere.” I tried to be vague.  
“Where to?” he suddenly rolled from under a car, laying on a rolling cart, and looked up at me. “Wow, why are you all dressed up?”  
“I got a date.” I lied, hoping he wouldn’t ask any further questions.  
“With whom?”  
“Some guy I met…” which was technically true.  
“Where did you meet him?” he sat up on the rolling cart and wiped his hands on his jeans.  
“Dean, I’m late already. Can I take a car or not? I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, okay?” I let some annoyance bleed into my voice.  
“That one over there is almost finished. And it should be clean too.” he pointed at a silver hatchback. “I’ll go get the keys.” 

Five minutes later, I was on the road. Dean’s rebuilt cars worked perfectly during Magic. Most other cars took about 15 minutes of chanting until they started, but with Dean’s, it only took some influx of Magic, which I willingly gave.  
The sun was setting and I stepped on the gas to get to the Leypoint on time.

Once there, I felt Crowley before I saw him. They Leypoint was busy at this time of day but people gave him a wide berth. Not many were as magically sensitive as I was, but most people felt big sources of power and instinctively steered clear of them.  
I parked the car and checked my makeup in the mirror, before getting out and locking the doors.  
“There you are, Poppet.” Crowley said, when he spotted me. He still wore the same outfit as before. “Come!” He took my hand and put it on his forearm.  
“Where are we going?” I asked not following him.  
“To Hell, of course.” he answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  
“To Hell? Can I… can I even go there? I mean… I kinda enjoy being alive… most of the time.” I still refused to follow his lead.  
“Oh you don’t have to be dead, to go to Hell, Love.”  
“Do you have the Amulet?” I asked. I didn’t see it anywhere on him.  
“Let’s not talk business, just yet.” he said, pulling me with him once more.  
We stopped a short distance away from the Leypoint. I couldn’t tell where we were heading, but there was no going back now, not really.  
Suddenly, he stopped and stood in front of me, looking me in the eyes. We were about the same height with me wearing my high heels.  
He touched my forehead with his right index and middle finger and suddenly we were… somewhere else.  
I shook my head in confusion, feeling a bit dizzy.  
“What the fuck?” I looked around.  
“Welcome to my Kingdom.”  
We were in a posh living room. The furniture was made from dark wood, probably ebony, with plush dark blue upholstery. There was a seating area with a loveseat facing an open fireplace with a fire burning in it. I rolled my eyes inwardly, when I saw the bearskin on the floor in front of it. This was such a cliché.  
“May I take your coat, miss?” a skinny guy in a suit suddenly said from my left. I startled, but handed my coat to him. It was warm enough inside, warmer than it would be in my apartment all winter.  
“Can I offer you a drink?” Crowley said. He stood next to a small sideboard that I was sure hadn’t been there a minute earlier.  
“Yea, something strong.” I murmured. “No ice.”  
He poured me a glass of whiskey. I took it and warmed it up between my hands for a second. Crowley stood behind me and traced the strap of my dress with his fingers. I chugged the amber liquid down in one single gulp. I couldn’t do this sober.  
The liquid burned my throat and I felt it warm up my stomach.  
“So, how are we going to do this?” I asked, handing the empty glass back to him, ignoring his fingers on my skin. He refilled the glass without asking.  
“Payment up front.” he said.  
“Show me the Amulet first.”  
“Aubrey, bring in the Amulet!” Crowley shouted towards the door.  
Aubrey, the skinny dude in the suit came inside a second later, carrying a wooden box. He must have been waiting right outside the door. I saw the Amulet’s power through the wood.  
“Satisfied?” Crowley asked.  
I nodded.  
“Well then… he put his glass to the side and stepped close to me.  
Despite being scared I also was kind of eager and excited in a way. I felt my heartbeat speed up, as Crowley gently held my chin with his thumb and forefinger.  
“No need to be scared, Poppet.” he said, obviously sensing my nervousness.  
“I’m not.” I lied.  
“I know you are. They don’t call me the King of Lies for nothing, Love.” he chuckled once more.  
“Okay, I’m scared. Now can we get this over with?” I murmured.  
“Whatever you wish.” He took my hands and put them against his chest. Hmmm… that felt nice. Part of me wondered how he would feel without all that fabric under my fingers.  
Crowley’s hands suddenly were at my waist and without further ado, he pulled me close and kissed me. And boy, could he kiss!  
My senses exploded. It felt like he caressed my skin in places he couldn’t possibly be touching. A small moan escaped my lips and I opened my mouth for him.  
He felt the small movement and immediately claimed my mouth with his tongue. He tasted of whiskey and smoke and the sensation made me feel all dizzy.  
My knees went weak, but he held me up with his arms around my waist.  
“Wow…” I whispered, when he moved away from me, much too soon for my tastes.  
I stumbled backwards until my knees hit the loveseat and let myself collapse in it. Involuntarily my fingers went to my lips as if I could somehow conserve his touch by doing so.  
Crowley sat down in a chair next to me and looked me up and down. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” he chuckled.  
I said nothing. If kissing him felt that good, I wondered how… other things with him would feel. 

When I felt I could think again, I opened my eyes to find him sitting and watching me.  
I slowly sat up and looked at him. “So, about the Amulet.” I started, thankful my voice sounded normal.  
“Yes, about that… something has come up…”  
I froze. “What do you mean?”  
“I found my demon, but he was dead… and the Amulet was gone.” he stated, matter of factly.  
“Are you fucking serious?” I got up and walked to where the box was. What was in there that would feel the same as the Amulet of Kabedayah? Before I could open the lid, his hand on mine stopped me.  
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked, feeling stupid all of a sudden. Stupid and mad. How dare he?  
I turned towards him and shoved him away.  
“Take me home. NOW!” I demanded.  
“Can’t do, Love. Magic fell a while ago. We’ll have to wait until its back up.”  
I rolled my eyes, but knew he was right. Even though we were in some other dimension now, I felt Magic had fallen. Fuck.  
“Fuck you for taking me here even though you don’t have it! Seriously!” I spat at him.  
He smirked. “Now don’t act like you didn’t enjoy our kiss.”  
“That’s not up to discussion right now!” I said, inwardly cursing myself for blushing.  
“No need discussing it, Love. Both of us know the truth.” He stepped close enough to touch me and pulled me towards him again. He looked at me, greed written in his eyes, and licked his lips. I could probably have broken free, but part of me didn’t want to.  
Part of me wanted to see where this would lead.  
He pushed me backwards until I was trapped between him and the wall, his body pressed against mine. I tried staring him down, but he didn’t seem impressed. He came close to kiss me again and I turned my head so he couldn’t meet my lips. Without wasting a second, he went for my chin and down towards my neck instead. His fingers played around with my dress straps and I felt him push the right one down my shoulder. I gasped, at his brashness, but didn’t stop him. For the second time within half an hour, my knees grew weak under his touch.  
“How dare you?” I hissed, but again made no move to stop him.  
He didn’t answer. His mouth was occupied otherwise. When he pushed the second strap down my shoulder, the whole dress slipped off me and fell to the ground, pooling around my ankles. I was left in my black lace underwear and high heels.  
Crowley stepped away for a moment, to admire my body. His gaze stopped at the glyph on my thigh for a second, before traveling back up.  
I said nothing, but my heart was racing in my chest. I had kinda hoped something like that would happen, but not in my wildest dreams had I believed it actually would.  
“Bed, now!” Crowley ordered and pointed to the side. I was pretty sure the bed hadn’t been there earlier. I think I would have noticed a huge four poster bed with a king sized mattress.  
“Yea, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I grinned. Who did he think he was?  
“You disobey me in my own house?” he smirked.  
“Yea, what a bad girl I am, huh?”  
“Others would sell their souls to spend one night with me and you dare disobey me?”  
“I very much do.” I still stood with my dress pooled around my ankles and now I stepped out of it.  
He sat down in the loveseat, arms up at the backrest again. “We’ll see for how long.” he murmured and watched me, while sipping his Whiskey. Suddenly I felt like a finger was tracing the inside of my thigh upwards from the knee. I looked down, but didn’t see anything. When a second invisible finger joined the first one, I took a sharp breath.  
“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked, watching me closely.  
He traced the outline of my panties and up my hips, only to stop at my breasts. My nipples hardened under the invisible caress. I bit my lips to stop myself from crying out.  
“Come here now.” he ordered.  
I hesitated, but then a slow grin spread on my face. Might as well make the best of a shitty situation. I walked towards him and sat down on his lap.  
“What do you want me to do, King?” I purred.  
“Finally you’re coming around, Poppet.” he smirked.  
“Might as well…” I grinned. With quick fingers, I loosened his Cravat a bit and let my fingers glide down his chest, before starting to unbutton his shirt and letting my fingers glide inside.  
He watched me intently, sipping his Whiskey, but didn’t move, so I didn’t stop.  
His chest was speckled with black and white hair that led down to his navel and vanished inside his pants. I bit my bottom lip, and went for another kiss.  
He put his glass to the side, before joining in. His hands were around my waist and patted up my naked back.  
I felt my bra snap open and quickly shrugged out of it, breathing heavily as I felt his gaze travel over my exposed flesh. He pulled me in and buried his face between my breasts. I let my head fall back and enjoyed his touches. A moan escaped my mouth, when I felt his fingers glide up my legs.  
“Bed. Now.” he suddenly said, letting go of me for a moment. “I’m too old to do this here.”  
I was a bit disappointed about the time out, but got up from his lap obediently.  
Without a warning, he bent down and picked me up, to put me over his shoulder. I laughed, as he carried me towards the bed, where he dropped me unceremoniously.  
I watched him finally take off his coat and shirt, before he ordered me to turn around. Willingly complying, I turned, and got on all fours. He walked around the bed, naked from the waist up.  
“Give me your hand.” he ordered and grasped my left wrist.  
He pulled my arm towards him and put a leather cuff that was attached to one of the bed posts on me. Okay, I wasn’t sure I liked the direction this was going. When he demanded I give him my second wrist, I hesitated. “Should we agree on a safe word or something?” I asked.  
“If it makes you feel better… You won’t be using it though.” his eyes twinkled with mischief.  
“I won’t?”  
“You can, but once I start, I won’t stop before I’m done.”  
His words made places inside of me tingle. Fuck this was hot… and scary, but also very hot.  
“Here now, Love. Give me your wrist.” he said for the second time and even though I didn’t know why, I obeyed.  
“There’s a good girl.” he said, as he wrapped the leather band around my wrist.  
I was on my knees still, with my arms being strapped left and right of me. Crowley walked around me to admire his work. “Beautiful.” he murmured, before climbing on the bed behind me.  
He patted my ass and let his hands glide upwards, bending over me. When he bit my shoulder, I gave him a moan. He still wore his pants and here I was, dripping wet for him. My panties were soaked.  
I felt his hard cock press against me from behind, when he lifted away from me again. He slapped my ass once, twice, before ripping my panties off of me. I gasped, now completely exposed to him, oozing with my own fluids.  
“Beautiful.” he admired again. I heard his belt buckle open, but couldn’t turn my head far enough to watch him. So I waited.  
When he finally touched me again, lining himself up with me, I squirmed. This was almost too much to bear. The anticipation was driving me crazy, but he thankfully didn’t make me wait too long.  
In one smooth movement, he entered me. The sheer thickness of him made me dance on the narrow line between pleasure and pain. Each of his thrusts threw me off on one side of the line or the other. It was glorious.  
Being at his mercy like that almost did it for me. His skillful movements only added to the overall sensation and before long, I felt myself clench around him.  
The grunts of pleasure from him told me, he wouldn’t take too much longer either. He was fucking me like there was no tomorrow, getting faster and faster. I arched my back to give him a better angle, when I felt him bend over me again.  
He was hitting my sweet spot with every thrust and he knew it. My legs were shaking and my toes curling, as I neared my orgasm. When I felt his teeth on my shoulder again, I moaned into the sheets, my cries muffled by expensive silk. Tiny stars danced around the edges of my vision and my eyes rolled back in my head, as he bit down on me hard enough to draw blood. And still he was slamming into me from behind. My legs gave out under me and I sank down to the bed, Crowley still on top of me. I felt him cum all over my ass and back, before he collapsed as well.  
He didn’t waste much time though. As soon as he had caught his breath, he rolled off the bed and pulled his pants up. He hadn’t even completely undressed. That was… I felt a bit insulted.  
“Rest, Love. Aubrey will take you home, once Magic is up again.” he said, buttoning his shirt.  
“Are you fucking serious?” I said. It was hard to seem menacing, while still shackled to the bed. “Unbind me.”  
“Aubrey!” Crowley shouted. “Unbind my guest and take her home as soon as possible.” Then, bent towards me, “I’ll leave you a little present on the table here. It was a pleasure doing business with you.” he smacked my ass once again and then left. Just like that. What the actual fuck?  
I squirmed to keep some dignity, as Aubrey came inside and undid my shackles. “Does he do that a lot?” I asked, wrapping the ruined silk sheets around myself. “Fucking shithead.” I added, voice a little lower.  
“I’m not allowed to tell.” Aubrey said. “You may rest in here, I’ll be back to take you home once Magic is up. Do not leave the room!” And then he left as well.  
“Friggin assholes!!!” I exclaimed, getting up from the bed. I walked towards the table Crowley had indicated, straddle legged. My skin was all tender and I realized only now that he had really drawn blood, when biting my shoulder. A thin rivulet was slowly making its way down my collar bone. This just got better and better!  
I wiped the blood away with the silken sheets, to make sure they really were beyond saving. Served him right. Fucking ass. 

The wooden box from earlier was sitting on the table Crowley had indicated, but the lid was open now.  
Inside was a small fabric drawstring bag. I took it and pulled the opening apart to reveal a bunch of greenish-grey scales that looked quite potent to my magical vision. They were demons scales. Probably from the guy who stole my Amulet. Would serve him right!  
If Crowley thought, he could appease me with a couple of scales though, he was wrong. Looking around, I grabbed an expensive looking bottle of Whiskey and poured it all over the bed, before smashing it on the ground and distributing the broken glass all over the furniture. After cleaning myself off as well as possible with the silken sheet I got dressed and put the sheet back on the bed. I hoped he’d sleep well tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leylines are used for transportation in the Kate Daniels series, so I figured, there'd be crossroads when two Leylines cross and called it Leypoint. I think something like this isn't mentioned in the books, but here we are...


	4. Squirrel & Squirrel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds out something about Mia that noone has known before.   
> some light fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place at the same time as Chapter 3. While Ira is in hell, Dean and Mia face their own problems.

Dean was sitting at his usual booth, having his usual burger and his usual beer.  
What was unusual though was that he was alone.  
"Where's Ira and Sam tonight?" Mia asked, sitting down opposite him when she had a few minutes without any of the other customers wanting anything. Magic had fallen about half an hour ago and the jukebox in the corner was playing Carry on my wayward son, a classic.  
"Sam is being held up at work. Ira is on a Date. Didn’t she say anything to you about it? She was pretty vague, when she came to borrow a car...." Dean said, taking a sip from his beer.  
Mia stole one of the fries off his plate before answering. "Nope, she didn't say anything. I haven't seen her since she left yesterday."  
"Well... whoever she's with, better treat her right, or else...." Dean murmured.  
"Don't worry! She's a big girl! She can look after herself!" Mia said, getting up, gently patting Deans shoulder.  
Her face twisted in disgust, as she walked towards the new customers that had just sat down a few tables away. Dean turned around to look who it was that made her so uncomfortable.  
It was two guys and a woman, nothing special about them. The guys seemed to be in their late 30s or early 40s. One of them was almost completely bald. The other one's hair was cropped so short, he might as well have been bald too. They looked quite similar. Possibly brothers.  
The woman was younger than them. Early 30s maybe. Her long black hair hung down her back in a deadstraight ponytail.  
By the way they looked at Mia, Dean could tell there clearly was some animosity between them.

They ordered and Mia went behind the counter to get their drinks.  
Dean shot her a questioning glance, but she ignored him, absorbed by the trio. What was up with them?  
When she placed their drinks on the table, the woman grabbed Mia’s wrist.  
"You can't stay a loner forever." she said.  
"Let me go." Mia said and went backwards a few steps. "Isn't it enough you bother me at home? You can't come to my workplace and threaten me!" she hissed.  
There were only two other tables occupied, besides Dean and the mysterious trio. People looked towards the altercation with mild interest written on their faces.   
"Our Alpha doesn't tolerate loners in his territory!" one of the guys said. He obviously didn't care who heard him talk.  
"I won't discuss this with you! Least of all here!" Mia said through gritted teeth.  
"The time for discussion is over anyways!" the woman said and got up.  
Dean got up as well. In a second he was between Mia and the other woman. "Is there a problem, you guys?" he asked, trying to get the situation under control. The tension in the room was almost palpable.  
"This doesn't concern you, human!" the bald guy said.  
The couple on one of the tables hastily put some money on the table and got up to leave, sensing shit was about to go down.  
The other table were shoveling their food into their mouths and would probably leave soon too.  
"Mia is my friend, so it does kinda concern me if you threaten her." Dean said. His voice was eerily calm.  
“Dean, it’s okay. You don’t want to get mixed up with them.”  
“Don’t worry about me!” he said, but was cut short by the woman angrily pushing him backwards till his back hit the wall. She grabbed him by the throat and effortlessly lifted him up so his feet dangled a few centimeters over the ground.  
“As we said, this doesn’t concern you, human!” she repeated her friends earlier words.  
“Let him down!” Mia said, wrestling the other woman away from Dean.  
His legs thumped down on the floor and he bent over coughing.  
The chimes above the door announced the last few customers had left as well, but no one seemed to notice or care.  
“Leave. Now!” Mia said.  
“Or what?” the woman said.  
“Or I’ll show you what a squirrel can do to a puny meerkat.”  
Dean was utterly confused now. He stood behind Mia, mouth open as if to say something, but didn’t really know what, so he clamped his mouth shut again.  
“Yes? Well, I can’t wait!” she was obviously the talker of the group.  
Her skin started flowing and fur sprouted all over her body, in a way that would have made a lesser man run. Not Dean though. He stayed where he was, half behind Mia.  
Only when he noticed her changing as well, he stumbled backwards a few steps.  
She still wore her yellow waitress uniform, but fur sprouted all over her body as well and a fluffy tail that lifted up the back of her skirt.  
“What the….” Dean whispered.  
The squirrel and the meerkat, both human sized and wearing clothes, started circling each other. It would have been comical if the air wasn't practically sizzling with violence.  
Mia’s features were made unrecognizable by the fur and incisors on her face. Small brown ears with furry ends sat atop her head and her eyes looked menacing.   
Anger streamed from her, so thick it was almost visible.   
The Wermeerkat pawed at her with claws almost as long as human fingers. Mia didn't seem scared though. Her claws were equally long and her teeth, even though they were obviously desined for eating nuts and fruit, still managed to look deadly.  
Dean stood with his back against the wall. It was unwise for a human to go up against a were-anything, even if they were such seemingly harmless animals as a Meerkat and a Squirrel.   
Only when he saw the bald guy shift as well, fur growing on his bald head, his face enlongating, he realized this wouldn't be a fair fight. He grabbed the breadknife from behind the counter and stepped next to Mia, taking on a fighting stance.

Up until that moment, the conflict had been mostly growling and prancing around each other, but with Dean taking the knife, something changed.   
The third guy had shifted as well. Both guys were ferrets.   
Without a warning, one of the ferrets jumped Dean. Figuring he was the smaller threat, the other two jumped Mia.   
Snarling and biting ensued. Claws made contact with furry and non furry skin and blood splattered. Chairs and tables were flipped until suddenly Cook, an old fat guy wearing a dirty wifebeater, and an apron that was in desperate need of a wash, came out of the kitchen, carrying a small bowl of greenish, glittery powder. Noone knew his real name, noone knew where he lived, but everyone knew he did take no shit.  
He dusted the five fighters generously with the powder, making four of them hiss in pain and one of them step back in confusion.   
"What the fuck, dude?" Dean said.   
"No fighting in the diner!" Cook explained, pointing to a sign on the wall that stated there was to be no fighting in the diner.   
Dean wiped blood from his nose, before pulling Mia out of the tangle. She had a cut on her forehead and a bloody gash on her collarbone.  
The other three kept writhing on the ground.   
"Out!" Cook ordered and dumped the rest of the powder on top of them.   
They hissed and howled in pain, but made their way towards the door. Mia whined as well, but since she had only gotten one dose of powder, she wasn't as bad. 

"What is this stuff?" Dean asked. Mia was huddled on the ground, sneezing, furiously scratching herself.  
"Anti shapeshifter stuff from the store around the corner." Cook said courtly and without another word went back into the kitchen.   
"We need to get this off!" Dean said, helping Mia ripping her torn uniform off her body and throwing it to the ground. Mia made a weird hissing noise at the garment. Cook didn't seem to care.   
"Come here!" Dean said and ushered Mia into the kitchen, where he used the spring mounted dishwashertap to shower Mia.   
She hissed at him as her fur soaked up water and matted to her body in a way that made her look half as big as she was dry, but it seemed to work well enough to get the powder, whatever it was, off.   
As she stood before him, shivering with cold, her fur began to melt and mold and she shifted back to human, trying and failing to cover herself with her hands. Her skin was blistered and reddish in a few places, but Lyc-V would heal her within hours.   
Cook had gone out back to smoke, so Dean and Mia were standing in the kitchen, all alone.   
After hesitating for a second and managing to avert his gaze from her body, Dean shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped the shivering girl in it.   
"Are you okay?" he asked.   
Mia nodded, teeth chattering. "You can't tell anyone!" she shivered. Her hair was matted to her head and her makeup ran down her face, leaving black streaks.   
"I won't! Come on, I'll take you home." he promised.  
Mia nodded and let Dean lead her outside, her shoes had ripped when she had changed earlier, so she padded along with him barefoot.   
"You want me to carry you?" he asked, pointing to her feet.   
Mia shook her head. "I'm alright."  
"We'll go to my place. You can have a nap there." he said. He lived much closer than hers and it was common knowledge, shapeshifters needed to sleep after changing.

"You want the bed or the Sofa?" Dean asked, when he unlocked the door.  
"I don't care." she yawned and let him lead her to the bedroom. Mia fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.   
Dean put his blanket over her, before going to the bathroom.  
He pulled his shirt off, with a hiss. There were four bloody gashes on his side, just below his ribs. The black shirt had hidden the blood until now, but now, the cuts were clearly visible angry and red against his pale skin.  
"Fuck." he murmured. That was bad. Lyc-V could be passed on via scratches. Tech was up now, so it would be inactive, but as soon as Magic was back, he would be in deep shit.


	5. a magic cure and some angry sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ira has to save Dean from becoming a shapeshifter, Sam is mad, Crowley comes back for seconds and ends up being an ass again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to write some angry sex for ages, but only managed to get the circumstances right until now.   
> I hope you'll enjoy it, even though the actual act is pretty short! lol

It was early next morning. Aubrey had taken me back home, which left Dean's car stranded at the Leypoint. We’d have to get it later. I was in no mood to do it right now. I could still feel Crowley’s semen stick to my lower back and all I wanted was a long hot shower and an even longer nap.   
I slammed the glass door to my store behind me angrily and stomped up the stairs, throwing my high heels in a corner angrily. Kali, who had been sleeping in the bay window was startled by the noise and meowed at me in protest. Ignoring her, I went into the bathroom and started chanting at the waterboiler, curses mixing with the chant because as usual it took much too long for my tastes to start.  
When the water finally got warm enough not to leave my teeth chattering, I stepped into the bathtub and closed the curtain behind me. It wouldn’t get any hotter as long as Magic was up. I quickly rinsed my hair and body, promising myself a longer shower once Tech was back, whenever that would be.  
Just as I had stepped out of the shower, dried off my hair and put some ointment on the bitewound on my shoulder, I heard the chimes downstairs.  
I rolled my eyes. Of course a customer would come in just now…  
“I’ll be down in a minute!” I shouted, hurrying towards my bedroom to get dressed.  
“Ira! It’s me!” Mia shouted from downstairs. “Dean is hurt!”  
That stopped me in my tracks. “What happened?” I asked, wrapping the towel around myself, while she was hurrying upstairs.  
“He was attacked by a shapeshifter.” she explained.  
“Fuck! Is it bad?”  
“Only since Magic is up.” Mia said. She was wearing one of Dean’s Flannel shirts. What had they been up to while I was gone?  
“Okay, gimme a second!” I quickly got dressed while Mia was waiting for me, then I ushered her downstairs.  
“Do you know what kind of shapeshifter it was?” I asked, opening jars of powders and bags of herbs from my storage room.  
“Either Meerkat or Ferret.” she said her voice sounding strange.  
“Where did you meet those?” I asked, dumping the various supplies I had just gathered into a stone mortar. Mentally ticking off the ingredients I had used, I remembered one last thing and dumped a pinch of zinc oxide all over the mix. Spitting into it, I stirred everything into a crumbly paste with the pestle and put a lid on the stone bowl.  
Spit, like every other bodily fluid, carried the magic of its donor. It wasn’t strictly necessary, but it made the mix more potent and I preferred applying a paste to trying to get the powder to stick where it was supposed to go.  
“Okay, let’s go.” I said, taking the mortar. It had warmed up quite a bit and it smelled like rotten meat. Good. That meant I had gotten the ratio right.  
Mia led the way, opening doors for me, so I could carry the mortar in both hands. It was getting warmer and warmer and little clouds of steam rose from under the lid.

Sam was sitting on Dean’s bed, holding his brothers hand, as Dean twisted and moaned in pain.  
“It’s okay” Sam said when he saw me. “Ira is here! She’ll fix you!”  
“Show me the wound!” I said, without bothering about pleasantries. Once Lyc-V had entered the bloodstream, there was only so much time to get it out again.  
Dean rolled onto his back and lifted his shirt. Someone had put a bandage on him and I gently lifted it to look at the damage. The wound had already scabbed over. Lyc-V was working high time on healing him.  
“Okay, hold him. This is gonna sting!” I ordered.  
Mia put her hands on Dean’s shoulders, Sam held his legs and I quickly reopened the wound with my fingers. The paste had to get inside the wound or it wouldn’t work.  
Sam grimaced at the smell when I pulled away the lid. I shot him a pained smile. It stank to high heaven.  
“Fucking hell!” Dean hissed and jerked when I put the first dab on.  
“Sorry.” I murmured but kept on putting dab after dab of it at the angry swollen flesh. He tensed up every time I touched him, but bore with my treatment pretty well, considering the circumstances.  
“How much more?” he asked between gritted teeth after I had worked on him for a while.  
“Not much. I’ll be done in a minute. But this has to stay on for a few hours at least.”  
There were probably less painful methods to stop Lyc-V, but this was the most reliable one and the quickest one to mix up… and the only one I knew by heart.  
My grandmother had been a healer when I was a child and people had come to her with Lyc-V infected scratches all the time. First time I had made this concoction by myself, I had been about 12.  
Once I had gotten everything inside of Dean, I wiped my hands and stuck the bandage back on.  
“Okay, now we wait.” I said, looking at the others whistfully.  
“Is it gonna stop feeling like its burning away my flesh anytime soon?” Dean hissed at me.  
“Yea, just a few minutes.” I lied, then turned to Sam and mouthed “won’t stop.” to him, while shaking my head.  
“You know I can see your face, right?” Dean said.  
“No you don’t.” I put my hand over his eyes. “Try to sleep through it.”  
“Why did you even get in a fight with a bunch of Shapeshifters?” Sam asked, now that the crisis was averted.  
“They tried to rob the diner.” Mia quickly said, before Dean could reply. “He saved my ass.”  
“Wow, strong mighty hero.” I patted his shoulder. “Maybe we should leave the two of you alone, so Mia can thank you accordingly.” I winked at her, which made her blush.  
They were obviously hiding something, but who was I to judge? I was hiding my own shit too. Getting up, I took hold of Sam’s hand and pulled him after me to give the two some privacy. And I needed to tell him about our lack of leads towards the Amulet. Fuck!

“Where have you been all night?” Sam asked the obvious question, as soon as he had closed the door to Dean’s room behind him.  
“Umm… yea, about that…”  
“What did you do? Dean said you went on a date?”  
“Can I have coffee before we talk about that? I haven’t slept all night…” I yawned.  
Sam rolled his eyes, but went into the kitchen.  
I sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island. Their apartment was quite a bit bigger than mine, so they had enough room for one of those.  
“It wasn’t really a date.” I said, just to fill the silence.  
“It wasn’t? Why were you all dressed up then?” Sam asked. He seemed quite annoyed with me.  
“Wow, when did the two of you find the time to catch up about everything?”  
“Don’t try changing the subject now.” he said and put a mug of coffee in front of me. He filled a mug for himself too, but remained standing opposite of me.  
“Well… fuck it! Okay, I met Crowley. He said he’d help us, but only if I wore that dress he gave me.”  
“You met Crowley?” his eyes went big and he blinked a few times in disbelief. “All alone?”  
“Yea, he would only meet me alone, since the two of you were so hostile against him… which I totally understand now, believe me!”  
“Did he hurt you?” Sam asked and the annoyance in his voice was replaced with concern.  
“No… well yea, but it was… nice… kinda.” I murmured staring into my coffee.  
“So you had sex.” now the concern was replaced with something else. Hurt? Annoyance?  
I nodded.  
“Well isn’t that just great.” he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Annoyance it was.  
“I’m sorry… I mean… it’s not as if we’re exclusive, right?”  
“Well we’re not, but damn! Did it have to be Crowley? Really?”  
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” I tried defending myself. “One thing simply lead to another and… well it happened. There’s no changing it now.”  
“So do you have the Amulet?” he changed the subject.  
“Yea well... that’s the thing…“  
“And you still chose to have sex with him?” he shouted, shaking his head in disbelief.  
“He only told me after! I’m not an idiot, Sam!”  
“Yea, up until ten minutes ago I’d have said that too…”  
Wow, that stung! “That was uncalled for!”  
“Was it though?”  
I blinked at him, at a loss for words. Why was he like that all of a sudden? “I’m leaving. Let me know if Dean needs anything.” I got up and was almost at the staircase when I turned and walked back to get my half full cup of coffee. It was too expensive to let it go to waste.  
“I’ll return the cup whenever.” I said before I left.

I had only just sat down on my sofa with Boy on my lap, when I felt demonic magic blink into existance outside on the street.  
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I cursed, when someone tugged at my wards.  
I sat Boy aside and went downstairs to look who it was, even though I was positive I already knew.  
Once my suspicions were confirmed, I opened my wards for Crowley and let him enter.  
“What the fuck do you want?” I built myself up in front of him. He didn’t answer immediately, but walked past me and up the stairs, before he even acknowledged my presence.  
“You forgot something.” he smirked at me and pulled my ripped panties out of his jacket pocket, letting them dangle in front of me.  
I rolled my eyes before grabbing the cloth from his fingers. “Thank you very much. You may leave now.”  
“I was also wondering if you might be available for a repeat of our encounter. I have to admit, it was quite enjoyable.” he said and had the audacity to make himself comfortable on my sofa.  
“You can’t be serious!” I looked at him flabberghasted. Despite being dead tired, I refused to sit down with him.  
“Oh but I am.”  
“Why would I do that?”  
“Well… you seemed to enjoy yourself as well.”  
“Yea, up until that moment when you left me chained up and naked for your butler.” I wanted to slap the smug grin out of his face.  
“Don’t let your memories be tainted by that tiny little thing, poppet.” he got up again and walked towards me.  
I didn’t move. I would not let him bully me in my own flat. He stepped around me and stopped behind my back. Moving very close, he audibly inhaled my scent while playing with a strand of my hair again.  
I cursed my body for reacting to his proximity. I wanted to be angry, but my body wanted to press itself against him. Fuck!  
As if he could read my thoughts, he let his hands glide down my arms and stopped at my hips, pulling me backwards. A whimper escaped my throat, before I could clamp my mouth shut.  
“See, I knew you’d like that.” he whispered against my neck, his words tickling my sensitive skin.  
“Fuck you.” I hissed, but didn’t step away.  
He chuckled and let his hands glide to my front, lifting my shirt up the tiniest bit. His fingertips on my skin sent electricity through my body. Again, my body betrayed me by letting out a low whimper.  
Okay, fuck it. I had to admit to myself that I wanted him. I turned around in his arms and put my hands on his chest, pushing him towards my bedroom.  
“This doesn’t mean I’m not still angry!”  
“Good! Angry sex is a special favorite of mine.” he chuckled.  
I pushed his jacket off his shoulders, as we entered my bedroom, dropping it on the floor carelessly, knowing that would piss him off. My fingers shaking with anticipation, I ripped his shirt open, making buttons fly everywhere. Upper body exposed, I pushed him onto my bed. He looked at me, hunger written in his eyes.  
Quickly, I shrugged out of my cardigan and top, standing in front of him in an old but comfy cotton bra. I unbuttoned my jeans under his greedy gaze and pushed the fabric down my legs. My panties followed suit and landed atop of the heap on the ground.  
He watched me intently all the while, his dick forming a lazily pumping bulge in his pants.  
“Come on, pull off your pants or do you want me to do everything?” I snapped at him.  
“I was just enjoying the show.” he murmured and slowly unbuckled his pants.  
I crawled on top of him on my bed and ungently pulled down his pants.  
“Kinky.” he chuckled.  
“Fuck you!”  
He eagerly licked his lips, when I aligned myself with him, which gave me an idea.  
I moved further up and saw his eyes widen with lust as it dawned on him what I was about to do. His hands grabbed my ass and he pulled me down atop his face.  
His stubble scratched at my still sore flesh, but I forgot all about that as soon as he started lapping at my folds. His tongue, thankfully, was good for more than just talking.  
I leaned backwards, as he pulled me ever closer, my thighs encasing his face and ears. I tried keeping my volume down, since I knew Dean was in his room, but failed miserably. Moans of pleasure left me breathless, as he worked me with his tongue, sucking my clit, lapping my juices. Time lost all meaning, as my muscles clenched around nothing and my toes curled. He kept on working me mercilessly and just as I was about to climax, he stopped and pushed me to the side, almost throwing me off the bed.  
“What the fuck!” I shouted and slapped his chest.  
“Shut up.” he hissed and climbed on top of me, spreading my legs with his knees.  
“Fucking asshole!”  
He didn’t reply, just slammed his dick inside me in one smooth movement. Oww!  
Quickly, he found his rhythm and pounded into me mercilessly, making me feel like he wanted to split me apart with each thrust. My shouts were half pain, half pleasure and we both knew it.  
I had to hold on to the headboard so my head wouldn’t slam against it with his rhythm.  
He used one hand to rudely pull down the cup of my bra and expose my breast to his hungry gaze.  
“Don’t you dare bite me again!” I hissed between moans when I felt him speed up with his nearing orgasm.  
“I would never.“ he groaned, squeezing my breast roughly.  
My pained moan seemed to do it for him and with one final push, he came inside of me. Wow, that had been unsatisfactory! Why had I agreed to that again?

Like last time, he wanted to get up as soon as he had caught his breath. Only it didn’t work this time. He hit an invisible barrier whenever he tried to climb out of my bed.  
I lay next to him, still panting and watched him. For a second I was confused, but then I remembered. There had been a devils trap painted on the floor when I had moved in. Figuring I’d put my bed there anyways, I had never bothered to remove it.  
Giggling, I rolled to the side opposite of him and quickly got up. I didn’t want to be within his reach, when he figured out what was happening.  
“Why?” he asked, annoyance tainting his voice.  
“Honestly, I didn’t remember until now. But now…. this is just perfect!” I had to fight hard not to laugh at him.  
“Break it!” he ordered.  
“Ask nicely!” I countered.  
“Please break it.” his voice oozed with sarcasm.  
“Sorry, I can’t! This is simply too good!” I got my clothes from the ground and got dressed. His clothes were out of his reach. “Seems like Karma is a bitch! How about you simply stay here while I go about my day? Just to show you how nice that feels? You can leave once Tech is up.” With that I walked out of my bedroom and closed the door behind me. After quickly cleaning up, I went downstairs and opened the store. For a while I could hear him scream and shout, but at one point he seemed to realize I didn’t care about his threats. I mean, I probably should have been scared, but I was simply too tired and annoyed with him to do so.  
Business was exceptionally good that day. A few customers looked at me funny when they heard Crowley’s screams upstairs, but they knew better than to ask about it. I was busy till Magic fell a few hours later.  
I walked upstairs to find Crowley half dressed in my bedroom.  
“You will regret this.” he promised.  
“Yea, probably… but I won’t let the memory be tainted by that.”


	6. a new lead?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Characters appear, New relationships form and old ones get mended, a new lead in the search for the mysterious Amulet of Kabedaya

Dean’s recovery went better than expected. I went to look after him as often as possible. He stayed in bed for a much shorter time than I would have wanted him to, but really, what else had I expected? He was Dean after all…  
Sam was never home or just about to leave whenever I went to their place. He was obviously mad at me for fucking Crowley… twice. I cursed our thin walls.   
Mia was with Dean most of the time. She brought him food from the diner and stayed at his place every night. They were all lovey dovey, almost to an annoying level, but I was still happy for them. Both of them deserved some love.

One afternoon, shortly after I left Dean in his autoshop, I was in my kitchen, baking cookies, when a surge of divine power appeared in the direction of Sam and Deans place. Light blue, almost white to my vision, the presence seemed to be located in Dean’s garage. What the actual fuck?  
I put the baking tray in the oven and wiped my hands on a dishtowel.  
“I’ll be back in a few.” I said to Kali, who was sitting on her favorite chair, watching me lazily.  
After meeting Crowley and not being able to even look at him I had done some research on how to shield myself from intense sources of magic.   
I had trained using my magic since I was a kid, but somehow never managed to tone my vision down. Other Sensates didn’t seem to have that problem, but I wasn’t other Sensates, so I had to find a workaround.   
The workaround was much easier than I had thought it would be. I had enchanted a pair of glasses and made them into magical sunshades, for lack of a better word.   
They were on the counter downstairs, window glass washed in a solution made from comfrey, angelica and rosemary, set in thick black rims. The glyphs at the very bottom of the glass had been hard to get right, especially because I had to etch them into the glass while chanting at the same time, but I had managed somehow. To my magic vision, the glasses themselves looked vaguely blueish, which was a good sign.  
I put them on and looked towards my right, where Dean’s garage was, they didn’t shield my vision completely, but made it much more bearable to look at it. 

Dean was talking to someone, when I entered the garage.   
“Hi!” I announced myself.  
“Hello.” a guy in a trench coat said and looked at me with a neutral expression. He was the source of the divine power and I inwardly congratulated myself on the glasses, since I could look at him directly, without having to squint. I pulled the glasses down my nose to look over them and quickly pushed them back up again, squeezing my eyes shut for a second. Wow, that was bright.  
Dean was half sitting on the hood of one of his cars, playing with a wrench.  
“Hey Ira, that’s Castiel. Castiel, Ira.” Dean quickly introduced us. “Is it time for a checkup again? Slowly I’m starting to think you’re simply enjoying looking at my gorgeous abs.” he smirked.   
I rolled my eyes at him. “Yea, whatever lets you sleep at night. I was just wondering who your guest is. He dazzled me through the walls.”   
“Dazzle?” Castiel asked, seeming confused.   
“Yea… dazzle.” What was there to be confused about?  
Dean sighed. “Yea, I was wondering how long it would take you to come to investigate. Cas is an Angel.”  
“Angel, as in an Angel of the Lord?” Why didn’t this surprise me more? “No wings and Halo… bummer.” I murmured.  
“Yea, you also didn’t see a tail and horns on Crowley, did you?”  
“Not in a place where you’d expect it.” I chuckled.  
“You’re disgusting!” Dean said.   
Castiel seemed confused, but I was starting to wonder if that look was maybe his resting face.  
“Cas has offered to heal my wound.” Dean quickly changed the subject.  
“Heal his wound? What’s wrong with my treatment then?” I turned towards Castiel.   
“It’s slow. And it will leave a scar.” Castiel said, his voice void of emotion.   
“Well I’m sorry I don’t have divine power.” I said, raising an eyebrow. No one had ever complained about my healing methods, let alone the speed of them.  
“Show me what you can do then.” I challenged him.   
Castiel walked towards Dean and motioned for him to lift his shirt.   
I walked closer too, and joined Cas’ expectant look at Dean’s middle section.   
“My eyes are up here, by the way.” Dean said, but lifted his shirt nonetheless. I quickly ripped off the bandage ignoring Dean’s wince.   
The scratches had scabbed over. The scabs were already falling off in places and pink skin shone through.  
Castiel looked at me and I thought there was pity in his eyes.   
He moved his hand to Dean’s stomach and blue light filled the space between his hands and Dean’s skin for a moment. I squinted but kept looking. The scabs were vanishing, fresh pink skin fading to Dean’s normal skin tone. It was slightly nauseating to watch, but when Castiel was done, Dean’s tummy looked like nothing had ever happened.   
Wow, that was impressive.   
“Why didn’t you come here a few days ago? You would have saved me a lot of work.” I said.  
“I was busy elsewhere.” Castiel stated.   
Wow, great work ethic for a healer, I thought to myself. A healer never was busy elsewhere if someone needed them. How could he say something like that?  
“Okay, good. Thanks for finishing what I started.” I said. “I gotta go, I got cookies in the oven.”   
“Thanks for coming by!” Dean shouted after me. Castiel said nothing.

The cookies were meant as a peace offering for Sam. They were the healthy-ish kind that made you question your life choices and had raisins and muesli in them, just the way I knew Sam liked his treats. And I also knew he wouldn’t mind the pinch of cinnamon I had added. Cinnamon was for purification and I really wanted our relationship as pure as it used to be again.   
The phone was working despite Magic being up and I called at his office under a pretense, asking if he was in. He was. Okay, good. I grabbed one of the many amulets from my private stash and put it into my pocket. It was a smallish brass disc, with 27 triangles carved into it. I carried it on a black leather cord, like I used for all my homemade amulets. Once I put it on, it would make people not want to notice me. It had served me well a few times before and I had spent yesterday afternoon charging it.

I knew where Sam’s office was, so I simply went straight there, once inside the dirty gray building that housed the offices of the Order.   
People moved out of my path without knowing why, as I made my way through the corridors. Sam’s door was ajar and I entered without knocking. He startled when I took off the amulet.   
“What are you doing here?” he said, hurrying to get up and close the door.   
“I made you cookies.” I said and handed the small package to him. “I miss you.”   
Sam sighed before taking the cookies and placing them on his desk. “I miss you too.” he said and pulled me into a bear hug.   
I put my arms around him and the world lost some of its darkness. I closed my eyes and he put his chin on top of my head.  
“I’m sorry.” I whispered against his chest.   
“Yea, me too…” 

“Listen…” he said, after a few minutes of reveling in each other’s touch, “I know I said I didn’t want us to be a couple and everything, because of my work and your work and…. other stuff… but I think I’ve changed my mind.”   
I was squeezed between his arms and his chest, but upon this new revelation I pulled away a bit, so I could look him in the eyes.   
“You have? Wow… and all it took was me fucking Crowley? If I only had known! I would have done it much earlier!”  
Sam rolled his eyes. “I could treat you like shit too, if you like that!” he joked.   
“Please don’t, I much prefer your making love to his screwing my brains out. I think he hasn’t gotten the memo about women enjoying orgasms too…” I joked and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. 

“I’m glad you’re here actually.” Sam said a few minutes later, munching on a cookie. “I think I know who to ask about the amulet. I was about to go there when you came in.”   
“Yea? Who is it?”   
“You ever heard about Saiman? I mean, you probably have, in your line of business.”   
“Saiman no last name? Like Cher? Nope, don’t think I have.” I admitted after thinking for a few seconds.   
“Well… you’ll get to know him then. Come on, let’s go.” he grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and moved towards the door. His gun rested at the small of his back, where he usually kept it. He also had a small sheath on his hip with a black dagger in it. The pair of old jeans that he wore, perfectly hugged his ass and now that we were all made up again, I shamelessly allowed myself to enjoy the view.   
“Stop checking me out.” he murmured, when he noticed me looking.  
“Sorry, not sorry!” I laughed and put my amulet back on.   
“It feels really odd to know you’re right next to me while at the same time my brain tells me there is no one there.” he murmured, as we walked down the corridors to the exit.  
A group of people came towards us just then and I said nothing, but squeezed his ass in reply. He started and missed a step. I had to fight hard not to laugh. 

I waited until we were in Sam’s car before taking off the amulet.   
“How does this thing even work?” Sam asked, as he started the engine.   
“Magic.” I laughed.   
“Of course.”   
I let my hand rest on his knee, happy I was allowed to touch him again. I was really looking forward to sleeping with him next to me again. Next to me or on top of me or under me. It was all the same, as long as we were together once more. Together and improved, I corrected myself. I felt a grin spread on my face. 

About half an hour later, we slowly approached our goal. Champion Heights, the only skyscraper in town that hadn’t been ground down by Magic. I knew that during Tech, it was a sleek black glass tower. Now that Magic was up, it looked like it was made of granite, including moss growing on the rocky surface. A spell was hiding it from Magic. Only the wealthiest could afford to live here.   
“What did you say was that guy’s name again?” I asked, as Sam stopped the car in front of the building.   
“Saiman. He is an expert on all things magical. He trades information for ridiculously amounts of money, but I figured he might be willing to help us, if we made it very clear how dangerous the amulet of Kabedaya could become in the wrong hands.” Sam explained.  
“Yea, because he sure as hell works like that. Because that’s how he got to live in Champion Heights. Giving away the thing he’s selling for free.” I joked, as we walked inside the building.   
“Let’s just see how it goes and leave the dumb jokes until after, how about that?” Sam said, patting me on the head like a little child.   
We stepped on the elevator and rode up. It was an odd feeling. There weren’t many elevators around these days, since most buildings were only two or three stories high at the most. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been in one.

When the elevator doors slid open, there was only one door. Seemed like Saiman owned a whole floor in this tower of obnoxiousness. I usually didn’t care much about money, but damn, this was impressive.   
Sam confidently rang the bell. I stayed half a step behind him.   
The man that opened the door was nondescript in every way. Average height, average face, dirty brown eyes and hair.   
The only remarkable thing about him was, that he was stark naked.   
“How may I help you?” he said. His voice was unremarkable as well.  
“We talked on the phone earlier. Sam Winchester, Knight first Order.” Sam introduced himself and showed his ID.   
Saiman, no last name, looked at it for a second and motioned us in. His place was huge! The living room alone was about twice as big as my whole place. Floor to ceiling windows offered a beautiful view of the broken city.   
The interior was monochromatic black and white. Not really comfortable, but I was pretty sure comfort wasn’t what he’d had in mind when decorating anyways.  
“And who is this lovely lady?” Saiman asked, looking me up and down. “Wait, don’t say, I think we’ve met before.” He put his fingers on his chin and squinted at me. “You were much younger then….” he murmured. “I don’t recall the name, but I recall what shape I was wearing.” he said and his features started shifting. What the fuck?   
He grew a good 4 inches and his hair started filling in to a shaggy black mane. His eyes turned icy blue and his chest got more muscular. Watching him was nauseating, but when he was done, I recognized him. I would recognize this gorgeous specimen anywhere. He was so beautiful, even Sam in all his glory looked almost plain, compared to him.  
“You… “ I was at a loss for words.   
“Me!” he said, proudly presenting his nude body. I had been drunk at the time, but I remembered him very well. Thinking of the things we had done made me blush.   
“Could you maybe put on some clothes?” Sam asked, misinterpreting my discomfort.   
“Oh, does my nudity disturb you? I’m very sorry, let me just….” he hurried towards an open doorway to our left.  
Once he was out of view, Sam stepped closer to me. “How do you two know each other?” he whispered.  
“We had sex… a few years ago…” I murmured. “He was my first actually….” I looked at the ground to hide my embarrassment.   
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but did you just say I was your first? I never knew! You sure didn’t act it!” Saiman had put on a black silky robe and was back in his nondescript body.   
“I tried my hardest.” I murmured, still staring at the floor.   
“Don’t be ashamed, dear. It was quite enjoyable.”   
“Well, now that we talked this through, how about we go back to business?” Sam saved me from further embarrassment.   
“Of course, of course. Let’s sit down.” Saiman said and pointed us to the huge black couch in the center of the room.   
“Drinks?” he offered, pouring himself a tumbler of some clear liquid.   
“I’ll take a beer, if you have one.” Sam said.   
“Nothing for me…” I murmured.  
Saiman took a bottle from the bar and handed it to Sam, before sitting down opposite of us.   
“So?” he asked, crossing his legs and folding his hands atop his knees. “How can I help you? And how much is the Order willing to pay?”   
“Well, about that…” Sam started. “We’re actually not here on Order business…”   
“Continue.” Saiman said.   
“We don’t have a lot of money, but we need your help finding something that has been stolen from us.” I explained.   
“What exactly are we talking about?”   
“Are you familiar with the Amulet of Kabedaya?” I asked.   
“Of course. I didn’t know it was still in existence though.”   
“Yea, I didn’t either.” I murmured. “I had it, but before I could figure out what it even was, it was stolen by…”   
“By someone.” Sam interrupted. “We were wondering if you had heard about someone trying to sell it.”  
“I haven’t, but I could keep my eyes and ears open in certain…. circles.”   
“We can’t pay you much though.” I said.   
“Let’s worry about that later. I’m sure we find an agreement. How about you start your payment by telling me how you came by such a powerful item and who stole it from you.” Saiman seemed intrigued.   
I looked at Sam before answering. He nodded for me to tell the story, so I did.   
“Interesting… what are you planning to do with it, once you have it back?” Saiman leaned back in his chair, spreading his arms left and right of him on the backrest.   
“Destroy it.” Sam quickly said.   
I could tell immediately that Saiman wasn’t going to agree to that.   
“Let’s talk about that again, once you have it. I don’t like the thought of destroying something as old and powerful.” Saiman said and I silently agreed.


	7. scared girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ira gets a hint to the thief, Mia has a talk, a huge plothole and some stabbing.

Early next morning, I was woken up by the phone ringing.  
Sam's warm body was draped half over mine and I laboriously freed myself from his embrace.  
"Stay..." he murmured, trying to hold on to me still half asleep.  
I got up despite his protests, but wished the plague upon whomever had woken us that early.  
It was cold in my flat and I grabbed a blanket from the sofa, on the way to the phone.  
"Yes?" I said, wrapping the blanket around myself, leaning my head against the wall. Sooo tired.  
"Good Morning to you too." someone at the other end of the line said, sounding chipper. My sleepy brain recognized the voice, but couldn't place a name to it.  
"What do you want?" I asked brusquely, not really caring who I was talking to.  
"I just wanted to let you know I found out who has your Amulet." the man said. Slowly things started to make sense. The voice belonged to Saiman.  
"Go on?" I said, my voice a little softer. I wanted to know who had stolen from me.  
"Does the name Crowley ring any bells?" Saiman asked  
"Are you fucking shitting me?" In a second, I was fully awake.  
"I'll take this as a yes." he chuckled.  
"This shitfaced.... shitface!" I punched the wall, too angry to even make up proper curses. "Oww..."  
"Are you okay?" Saiman asked.  
"Yes, yes... thank you for calling." I rubbed my abused knuckles.  
"Anytime."  
I hung up before he could ask about payment. I didn’t have the nerves to negotiate just now.  
  
"Who was that?" Sam asked, when I stomped back into the bedroom.  
"Saiman." I said and angrily climbed back under the covers.  
"And?"  
I huffed before answering. "Crowley. Can you believe that guy?"  
"He lied to you? Yea, I can kinda believe that." Sam said. He sat up in bed and watched me.  
"I knew I'd seen the fucking Amulet in his box! I knew it! He must have hidden it, while I was..." I trailed off. I hadn't told Sam the details about Crowley’s and my first encounter and I didn't plan to do so.  
"You shouldn't have gone to meet him by yourself in the first place." Sam smart-assed.  
"Thanks for telling me, I hadn't realized that yet." I angrily turned away from him and pulled the blanket over my head, wishing I had never picked up that friggin Amulet.  
I felt Sam place a kiss on the back of my head, before he got up.  
Lifting the blanket just the tiniest bit and looking after him made things a bit better, since we had both slept in the nude.  
"I’ll have a shower… and I could really use some company, in case anyone was wondering." he said without turning around.

**Meanwhile in Dean’s bedroom**  
“You can’t leave just yet.” Dean murmured, pulling Mia back into bed.  
“I have to go to work.” Mia laughed, but allowed him to wrap himself around her again. Both of them knew if she really wanted to get up, she would be able to, with her shapeshifter strength and all, but she wasn’t too insistent on leaving just yet.  
The noises from Ira’s bedroom had kept them up half the night. Not that they hadn’t made their own racket as well….  
“They are fighting.” Mia said, hearing Sam and Ira’s voices through the much too thin walls. If she’d been in her other form, her ears would probably have twitched.  
“About what?” Dean asked, nuzzling her neck.  
“That Crowley guy…” Mia said, but was distracted by Dean’s lovebites. His lips could make her forget everything around her and for a while, she allowed herself to be lost in his caresses.  
Before things could get out of hand though, Mia had to stop him. “I really have to get to work.” she murmured. “Cook will be soooo mad, if I’m late again…”  
“Let him be mad, I don’t care.” Dean murmured, rolling over, so he was on top of her.  
Mia laughed, but pushed him off. “We’ll finish this in the evening.” she murmured, kissing his forehead, before grabbing her clothes from the day before from the floor.  
  
Today was an important day. She hadn't told Dean, but she’d made an appointment with the Beast Lord in the afternoon, after her shift. He had granted her loner status but Eric, Alpha of Clan Nimble, the Clan she officially belonged to, didn’t care about it and kept sending his minions to come get her and Mia was sick and tired about it.

 

 **Back in Ira’s flat**  
Against all odds, I chose not to join Sam in the shower. I was too mad. Instead, I started making breakfast. Dean was eating most of his meals at the Diner these days to spend more time with Mia, so it was just Sam and I.  
While cutting vegetables for his omelet, I thought about how we’d get the Amulet back from Crowley. Easiest thing would probably be to get back to hell, and simply go look for it there. I figured he’d keep the item close to him. Demons didn’t seem like the most trustworthy bunch and this probably didn’t change if you were their king.  
I poured the egg mixture into the pan, when I heard the water stop.  
“Why didn’t you come in? I was waiting for you!” Sam seemed bummed, when he emerged from the bathroom a minute later, toweling his hair off. He had wrapped another towel around his waist and his chest was bare. For a second I was distracted by a lone waterdrop that made its way down his chest.  
“Sorry.” I murmured. Damn Crowley for making me mad enough to forego a shower with this perfect man in front of me. “I’m too pissed off.”  
“About Crowley?” Sam asked, walking into the bedroom.  
“Yea… how am I gonna get into hell to steal back what was mine?” I half shouted over the sizzling of the omelet.  
“Why don’t you just tell him you wanna have sex with him again? I bet he’ll be here to get you in a minute.” he said from the bedroom. I stopped moving. That was actually a great idea. Why hadn’t I thought about that?  
When he emerged from the bedroom, he wore his jeans and a tight white t-shirt, looking gorgeous, while I was still in my bathrobe and probably looked like a mess with my uncombed hair and unwashed face. He didn’t seem to care though. He pulled me close and pressed a quick kiss on my lips before setting the table for our breakfast. How did I even deserve a guy like him?

An hour later, Sam had left for work and I was in my store, rehearsing what I’d say to Crowley when I’d call him while helping my customers with their various problems.  
During Magic, my customers were mostly witches and mages, looking for ingredients for whatever their current project was. People with low or no magic usually didn’t come to Unicorn during Magic. They’d only come once Tech was up, searching for items that helped them in one way or another in their life. I was talking to a teenage witch with dyed black hair and too much eyeliner about using blueweed vs. coffeeweed in a love potion when Magic fell. It took both of us a second to adjust, before we continued our conversation.  
In the end, the girl decided in favor of coffeeweed and happily went on her way. I saw potential in her, but it would take a few more years to grow into her full powers. I hoped she’d find a good mentor to teach her.  
Since no one else was in the store, I went upstairs to call Crowley.  
“Hello darling!” he picked up after the second ring.  
“Hello my mighty king.” I purred, putting a slight note of desire into my voice… or at least I hoped that’s what I sounded like.  
“I didn’t think I’d hear from you again,” he said, sounding smug.  
“I just… couldn’t stop thinking of you, especially about that one thing you did… “  
“I’m always ready for a repeat encounter.” he chuckled. “But not at your place, obviously…” a slight note of annoyance tainted his voice.  
“Yes, I’m sorry about that. I might have…. overdone it a bit, there…” I rolled my eyes at my own lie, hoping I sounded sincere. “How about you pick me up during the next Magic Wave? I shaved everything from the eyebrows down.” I whispered the last sentence.  
“I was mildly interested before, but now I’m almost excited. I’ll send someone!”

A few hours later, I had just settled down on the Sofa, with Boy on my lap, when Magic hit. “Come ooooon!” I whined, when I sensed a source of demonic magic appear outside. Why did he have to be punctual? Ugh.  
Boy wasn’t too happy about the me getting up and made a sound of protest, when I sat him down next to me and wrapped him in my blanket.  
I quickly put on some jeans, since I hardly could show up in Hell in sweatpants and put my machete in its sheath on my hip.  
Outside, some demon I had never seen before was waiting for me. I didn’t like going with him, but what choice did I have?

 

 **Meanwhile back with Mia**  
“See you tomorrow!” she said to her coworker, who worked the afternoon shift, as she left the Diner. She couldn’t be late for her appointment with the Beast Lord. She wanted to be on his good side after all.  
Quickly, she walked to her car and started the engine. She could have shifted to her other form and run to the meeting, of course, but then she’d have to shift back there and have a nap before she’d be able to negotiate and she really didn’t want to do that. Plus: she’d arrive there without any clothes. Not good.  
Thankfully she didn’t have to go all the way to the keep, the fortress that was about two hours drive from the city, but instead the Beast Lord had agreed to meet her at a safehouse in the city. The pack had those all over town, apparently, but since Mia wasn’t really part of the pack, she didn’t know any details.  
After a half hour of driving, she arrived at the address she’d been given. It was a nondescript stone house with smallish windows. All houses built past-shift were built like that. It made it easier to keep out the bad things that prowled the streets these days. As soon as she opened the door of her car, the smell of shapeshifters tingled the insides of her nose. She wasn’t used to being around shapeshifters. Squirrels were solitary creatures by nature, that was the only reason she was even allowed to live as a loner. There were only two other squirrels in town, as far as she knew. They belonged to Clan Nimble, same as she technically did, but opposed to her, they took an active part in the goings- on of the pack.  
The sturdy looking wooden door to the house opened before she could knock. Of course someone inside had heard her approach. Probably from a mile away.  
Her heart beat faster when she saw who had opened the door. It was the Meerkat that had assaulted her and Dean in the Diner.  
“Hi… I’m here for my meeting with the Beast Lord.” Mia said and it took everything she had to keep her fear out of her voice.  
“You reek of fear.” the Meerkat stated, the corners of her mouth pulling down in obvious disgust. Great. So much for making a brave face. That’s what she got for living among humans for so long. She wasn’t used to not being the only one with a superhuman sense of smell.  
“Can you take me to him or are you only here to insult me?” Mia said.   
The Meerkat turned around without another word and led Mia through the house, until they reached what looked like a living room. It was dimly illuminated by a single lamp in the very corner. It was only early afternoon, but with the gloomy autumn weather these days and the small windows, it would have been almost dark inside, without it.  
On a black leather sofa the Beast Lord sat, holding himself like he owned the place - which he probably did. His power made the hair at the back of her neck rise. He was huge, probably even taller than Sam and way more muscular too. Or did he just feel this way to her, because he was a Lion and she was a Squirrel? Everything inside her screamed to run away, but she stood her ground. “My Lord.” Mia greeted, not daring to meet his eyes.  
“Mia. Sit.” he said and indicated an empty chair opposite of him. “Can Karah get you anything to drink while we wait for our third guest to arrive?” His voice seemed friendly.  
“N-no… thank you.” Mia said slowly. “Who are we waiting for?” She hadn’t been aware of a third party invited.  
“I invited Eric, your Alpha to our meeting, since it’s him you’re having a problem with. I’m really just here as a mediator.” the Beast Lord leaned back on the sofa, seeming awfully pleased with himself… Cats…  
Mia swallowed nervously. “But… our agreement still stands, right?” The sole reason for her not wanting to be part of the pack was Eric. He was one scary bastard.

 

 **Back in Hell, where Ira has found the Amulet against all odds.**  
I stood opposite Crowley, lowly chanting the incantation, hoping I remembered the words right.  
He was mad, to say the least. Well, so was I! Bloody asshole! The Amulet of Kabedaya was safely around my neck. I felt the cold metal rest between my breasts.  
“Good luck getting out of here.” Crowley laughed evilly.  
“Yea, about that…” I interrupted my chanting and stepped closer to him. Before he could react, I pulled my machete from its sheath and stabbed him.  
"What...." he looked down on himself irritated. "Do you really think you could hurt me with that toothpick?" he asked and slapped me across the face with the back of his hand.  
I staggered a few steps backwards and held my cheek with one hand. Oww, that had hurt. But it brought some distance between us, which was good for what I had planned.  
"No, but it's been pretty satisfying." And now I had what I needed to get out of Hell too... hopefully. Quickly, I grabbed a small plastic bag from my pocket and emptied it inside my mouth. The bitter taste of the herbs made me scrunch up my face as I lifted the bloody knife to my mouth and licked the tip, hoping I had gotten everything right, because if I hadn't, Crowley would probably kill me right here.  
As for now, he was watching me, dumbstruck.  
My heart was racing as I swallowed the mixture. I felt dizzy for a moment, as Crowley's power hit me. Fuck, that was much more potent than I had expected.  
I blinked a few times and held on to the backrest of the sofa next to me.  
Crowley seemed to have realized what was happening and started towards me.  
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my store, willing my body to go there. I had read about teleporting all day, but theory and practice turned out to be two wildly different things.  
With a flick of Crowley's wrist, I was thrown against the wall, the impact squeezing the air from my lungs.  
"You will not steal from me and then run away, little girl!" his face was red with rage, as he walked closer.  
My head was spinning and my heart was racing. Crowley snapped his fingers and my machete fell to the floor, while I remained pressed against the wall.  
I tried ignoring him and concentrated on transporting myself out of Hell, anywhere would be okay for now, but I was lacking some kind of trigger. Since my magic was more of a passive nature, I had never really trained for this kind of thing, but I knew deep inside me that I could do it, if I only....  
Crowley slammed me against the wall again, and I saw stars dance in my vision. The look in his eyes told me he'd kill me for sure if I didn't make it out of here in a second.  
My machete suddenly lifted up from the ground and into Crowley's hand in one smooth movement.  
"I will show you to stab me!" his face was contorted with rage. He rammed the knife into my tummy and I closed my eyes. I wished I'd have kissed Sam goodbye before leaving... and hugged Kali and Boy... and Mia and Dean.  
The knife felt ice cold in my body. I mentally prepared myself for death, wondering what would happen to my cats and my store, but death didn’t come. Instead I felt the air around me cool down significantly. The pressure from Crowley's power released and I sank to the ground with a moan.  
When I felt soft paws on my face, I opened my eyes. I was home, in the backroom to my store. Kali pawed at my nose and meowed.  
"Get help" I said and rolled onto my back, trying to put pressure on the gaping wound in my stomach. And then the world turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the plothole in this chapter. But I know I'd never have finished this chapter if I had forced myself to write out in detail how Ira got to the Amulet.  
> Also, I tried very hard to make things smutty between Ira and Sam, but it simply wouldn't flow. So instead of forcing myself to type a badly written smut scene, I left it.
> 
> Please forgive me. I will try to do better in the future.


	8. a healer in need of healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Mia and Ira are back from their respective meetings.  
> One meeting went a bit bloodier than expected though, but wonder of wonders: both survive!

**Mia’s POV**  
Well, that could have gone much better… but also much worse… but also a lot better.  
The meeting with the Beast Lord had taken a turn for the worse once Eric had shown up. He had barely made it through the door, before attacking Mia.  
Mia as opposed to Eric, wasn’t much of a fighter by nature and had sustained a few bruises, before Curran, the Beast Lord had called Eric back. Nothing but her pride had been seriously hurt.  
Eric attacking her had been a blessing in disguise though, since it had made Curran realize why Mia was reluctant to join his pack. She thought she had won… until he made the decision to make her part of his personal team, which meant that she was under his protection, but was also expected to check in with him at least once a month and whenever he well found he had something she needed to do for him.  
Well, whatever… she was simply happy this meeting was over and she wouldn’t be expected to show up at the keep for another three weeks. And hopefully she’d never have to see Eric and his minions ever again.  
Just as she slowed down in front of Dean’s Autoshop, she saw Dean coming out the door. He seemed agitated but stopped, when he recognized her and waited until she had parked. The sun had sunk below the horizon and feylanterns illuminated the street, barely so, since this was Unicorn Lane, but enough to keep darkness at bay.  
“Are you okay?” she asked as their hands found each other as if on their own. Fingers interlaced, they made their way to Ira’s store.  
“I don’t know… Kali was suddenly in my garage and kept on bothering me. I didn’t even know, she was allowed outside.” Dean quickly explained.  
The door to Ira’s store was ajar and Boy sat just inside of it, meowing nervously. He had blood on his whiskers.  
“Ira?” Dean asked, but got no answer. It was dark and quiet inside the store.  
Mia didn’t need the light, but turned it on for Dean’s benefit. She smelled that something had happened. The irony scent of blood permeated the room and she quickly found the source of it.  
Ira lay passed out on the ground in the backroom of her store. Blood was seeping from a gaping wound in her stomach. Some of it was definitely her own, but the sulfuric stench that lay underneath the regular bloody smell told Mia that at least some of the blood was of demonic origin.  
She crouched down next to her friend and carefully lifted her soiled top to assess the mess.  
Blood was flowing freely from a longish cut in the skin. They had to stop the bleeding. There was a pool of blood forming below Ira, staining the wooden floor. How much blood could a human loose and survive, Mia asked herself.  
Well, not important now. Stopping the flow of blood was of the essence. Once they had that covered, everything else would sort itself out.  
Taking a deep breath, Mia calmed down sufficiently to be able to think clearly.  
Dean was already a step farther. He had already found a bottle of 90% pure alcohol that Ira usually used for making herbal extracts. It would serve as a disinfectant just as well though.  
Kali ran in circles around the trio, anxiously trying to get someone’s attention. Dean and Mia were preoccupied with other things though and didn’t pay her any mind.  
Just as Dean poured a generous amount of the alcohol over the stab-wound, Ira hissed and seemed to recover her senses. She grabbed his hand and grimaced in pain, before her eyes rolled back in her head again. Her waking up, even only for a few seconds, was probably a good sign.  
Kali still kept on bothering them. She anxiously pawed at Dean’s hand now, refusing to give up.  
“What is it?” he asked annoyed, even though he knew by now that Kali was much smarter than the average cat, during magic at least.  
Happy she finally had his attention, Kali ran towards the huge wooden cabinet in the back of the room, where Ira kept her stock of herbs.  
She looked at Dean expectantly, waiting for him to pick her up. He did so and she showed him to one of the many small drawers. Dean opened it for her and she sniffed at the smaller packets inside, until she had found the one she was obviously looking for.  
He took it out and read the neatly written label. Cogon Grass, it said.  
“You sure?” he asked Kali, holding the packet out to her. She sniffed it once more, sneezed and then nodded.  
“Put that on her wound.” Dean said, hurrying back to Mia, who was still bent over Ira. The flow of blood seemed to have slowed. Praise all the gods for that.  
Mia looked at him in confusion for a second. “Trust the cat.” he said, trying to inspire confidence.  
“All of it?” Mia asked towards Kali.  
The cat shook her head and seemed to roll her eyes. Were cats physically capable of rolling their eyes?  
Dean opened the package and poured a small amount of the herb out on his hand. “This much?” Kali looked at the amount and seemed satisfied. She jumped up on the counter and took a piece of gauze in between her teeth, which she gave to Dean. He wrapped the herbs in the gauze, forming a small packet and looked at Kali questioningly. Pleased with his work, she pawed at Mia’s hand so she’d let Dean apply the small bag.  
Mia carefully lifted the alcohol drenched rag she had been pressing on the wound and put Dean’s herbal bag under it. Looking at the bloody mess that was his best friends stomach, Dean swore to himself he would kill whoever had done this to her.  
Once the bleeding had slowed down sufficiently, the two of them cleaned Ira up and wrapped a thick bandage around her, before Dean carried her upstairs into her bed.  
Mia pulled off Ira’s bloody clothes and put a fresh shirt on her, while Dean was calling Sam and Castiel. Thankfully the telephone worked during Magic for a change.

Castiel showed up a short while later, outside on the street. “Dean?” he knocked on the door downstairs. “I can’t enter without breaking those wards. Doing that would be inadvisable though.” he had raised his voice a bit, but Mia would have heard him anyways.  
Ira stirred, as Castiel touched her wards. Her eyes fluttered open once again and she looked around the room in confusion. Boy, who had been sleeping next to her, noticed his owners discomfort and moved closer to her, snuggling up in the crook of her arm and started purring. Ira relaxed visibly.  
Mia was sitting at the edge of the bed, holding her hand. “Can you open your wards for Castiel? He’ll make you all good again.”  
Mia didn’t know how conscious Ira was, but it seemed enough. The chimes on the door downstairs signaled Castiel coming in.  
“Those wards are quite powerful.” he said, following Dean up the stairs.  
“Yea?” Dean, not having an ounce of magic in his body, had never felt them, but he believed his friend.  
“I could have broken them, but…”  
“It’s okay Cas.” Dean interrupted. “She’s in the bedroom. Can you fix her?”  
Ira’s eyes were closed again.  
Mia, despite having heard him come upstairs, startled when Cas entered. He smelled of… nothing at all. That was unusual.  
She’d assumed Dean had meant it figuratively, when he’d said Castiel was an Angel, but he had obviously meant it literally.  
She got up from the bed and moved as far away from the Angel as the room would allow, resisting the urge to hiss at him.  
Castiel didn’t seem to notice. His gaze was fixed on Ira.  
“There’s something dark about her.” he said, letting his hands hover an inch over her forehead.  
“Can you heal her though?” Dean asked.  
Castiel seemed to try to do something, but nothing happened. “No. She’s tainted!”  
“Tainted? This is Ira you’re talking about! There isn’t anything dark about her!” Sam suddenly said from behind them.  
“I’m sorry to say Sam, but there is.” Castiel said and stood up. “I can’t help her. His eyes were cast downwards. He seemed genuinely sorry.  
“Well thank you for nothing!” Mia said and walked to sit with Ira again, looking at Castiel accusingly.  
Sam passed by Dean and Castiel, and joined Mia on the bed.  
“This is my fault.” he whispered. “I’m so sorry, Ira.”

 **Ira’s POV**  
What happened to a healer, when they were in need of healing themselves? My tummy area felt like ice and fire at the same time. Every small movement hurt, but each time I swam back to the surface of consciousness, it hurt less.  
I had no idea how much time had passed, when I opened my eyes the next time. Sam lay on my bed next to me, dozing, holding my hand. I squeezed his fingers, to let him know I was okay.  
“Hey there.” Sam said, pushing himself up on his elbows, so he could look me in the face. The room was dark and cold, but Sam didn’t seem to mind. The ceiling light from the kitchen was the only source of illumination. Tech was up.  
“Hey.” my voice felt hoarse.  
“How do you feel?”  
I inwardly checked my body and actually, I couldn’t complain. My hand glided to my tummy and I expected pain upon touching it, but actually, it felt quite alright.  
Frowning, I pushed myself up onto my elbows too.  
“Don’t!” Sam tried to hold me back.  
“How long have I been out?” I asked, ignoring his protests.  
“A couple hours.” he said.  
I sat up completely and expected pain, but was disappointed once more, when there was none. Looking down on myself, I found I was wearing a different shirt than before, and a pair of panties.  
Lifting the shirt revealed a thick bandage around my waist. Touching and fidgeting around with it gave me no discomfort at all. What the actual fuck?  
Sam tried holding me back, when I probed under the bandage with my fingers, but I pushed him away.  
“A couple of hours?” I repeated his earlier words. “Feels more like a couple of weeks.” pushing down the bandage revealed nothing but a faint pink scar where I had been stabbed only hours before, apparently.  
Sam’s eyes got all big, when he looked at me. He blinked a few times, before gently tracing the faint pink skin. “How….”  
“Umm… I’m not entirely sure, but I guess Demon Blood?” I whispered.  
“Demon Blood?” he repeated, seeming confused.  
“I stole some of Crowley’s power to get back out of hell.” I admitted.  
He shook his head at me in confusion. “This is some next level stuff…” he whispered.  
I nodded while unwrapping my stomach. There was blood on the innermost layers of the bandage, but not much.  
So what was it that happened to a healer when they were in need of healing themselves, really? As luck would have it, nothing happened, because the power of the King of Hell they had stolen knitted them back together all by itself.  
“I’m gonna have a shower!” I murmured, getting up.  
“Don’t you want to tell me what happened?” Sam asked, getting up as well and helping me stand. I felt a bit shaky on my feet, but besides that, I was okay.  
“Well, obviously, I went there, got the Amulet, stabbed Crowley, got stabbed back and then left.” I quickly summarized.  
Sam didn’t seem satisfied. “That can’t be all!”  
“It is though! Where did you put the Amulet anyways?” I asked, finding it was no longer around my neck.  
Sam pointed to my nightstand, where one of the most powerful items in the history of mankind lay, discarded like yesterday’s clothes.  
Shooting him a glance, I quickly grabbed it and put it around my neck. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.  
“We need holy fire to destroy it.” he said, following me towards the bathroom.  
“Yea, about that…” I stood in the doorway to the bathroom, blocking his entrance with my arms. “We’re not gonna destroy it.”  
Before he could say anything more, I shut the door in his face and locked it.  
“What do you mean?” he shouted, knocking against the door with his fist.  
I said nothing, but turned on the water to drown out his shouts. Sam could be scary if he chose to, but I wouldn’t let him bully me into doing what he wanted.


	9. another player

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone else suddenly shows interest in the Amulet.   
> Betrayal, blood and pain ensue
> 
> This got a lot darker than I intended it to be...

I knew I wouldn't be safe from Crowley for long, once Magic was up again.  
The way I had taken the Amulet hadn't been exactly elegant, but I figured, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.  
For now, Sam was a much bigger problem.  
He hadn't taken kindly to my idea of storing the Amulet somewhere save, instead of destroying it.  
What he didn't know, was that I had a kind of locker with the Witch Oracle. You couldn't get much safer than that, partly because the witches didn't take kindly to people who advertised the fact that they offered such a thing as lockers for people.  
I wasn't exactly a witch, but my grandmother had been in a knitting circle with Evdokia, the Mother, who had known me since before I could walk. I was therefore allowed to interact with the Witch Oracle and did so on a semiregular basis, trading items and herbs, sometimes even visiting for tea.  
My next visit was actually long overdue so I'd try to go see them sometime this week. Until then, I'd keep the Amulet close. I vowed to myself to not even take it off when I had a shower.  
  
I felt like it was the millionth time I was telling Sam that I wouldn't destroy an item as old and powerful as the Amulet that day over dinner.   
I chose to stay home for the time being, for safety reasons. My wards weren't impenetrable, but they'd buy me some time if Crowley chose to send his minions after me.   
If he'd come to get me himself, I'd probably have a problem.   
  
"How can you risk it getting stolen again?" Sam towered over me, scolding.   
"Once its in my.... secret spot, there won't be any risk of that anymore!" I told him.   
"Yes, but you still haven't told me where that place is!"  
"Because it's a secret location. The secrecy is part of what makes it save! I told you this already!" to say I was getting annoyed with him would be an understatement.   
I had invited everyone over for dinner, so we'd have a chance at a nice evening, but it seemed like this would be just one more night of fighting. There wasn't much else Sam and I were doing since I had told him about my plan.   
Mia and Dean sat at the dining table, rolling their eyes. They too had heard our argument a couple of times before.   
"How about the two of you shut up about this now before the food gets cold?" Dean tried to defuse the situation. The Palak Paneer I had made - Sam's favorite - still happily bubbled away on the stove. Dean and Mia were nibbling on the homemade Naan bread I had already put on the table, to keep their hunger at bay. They were eerily similar in that department. Once they were hungry, they needed food. No discussions.   
"Dean is right!" I said to Sam. "Shut up and sit down! I made this for you, you jerk!"   
Sam inhaled to say something more, but I shut him up with a spatula over his mouth. "Don't!"  
Defeated, he exhaled and walked to the table. "Good boy." Dean said and patted Sam on the head, as he sat down next to his brother.  
I put Dean and Mias plates in front of them and went back to the oven, where I had put the rest of the Naan for keeping it warm. A moment of carelessnes was enough for me to touch the edge of the still hot oven with the back of my hand.   
"Oww!" I hissed, quickly pulling my hand back and out of habit whispering a few words of healing, despite Tech being up.   
I felt the Amulet of Kabedaya pulse once around my neck and suddenly found myself sitting on the ground, my back against the kitchen counter. What the actual fuck?   
Sam was kneeling next to me, looking worried.   
"What just happened?" I asked, pressing my hands to my forehead. My head and stomach felt like I had partied through the night and had a terrible hangover.   
"I think you might just have used the Amulet's power." Sam said. "Are you okay?"   
I blinked a few times in confusion and nodded. My hand, despite being burned just minutes earlier, was fully healed. Sam reached out for me and pulled me up from the ground. I let him lead me to the table and plopped down on one of the empty chairs.   
My legs felt like I had just ran a marathon.   
Wow, that had been... quite something.  
"Okay, give me the Amulet!" Sam said.   
I looked up at him and shook my head, grabbing the small brass trinket with my hand.   
"No discussion! Don't you see what's gonna happen?"   
"You still can't destroy it though! Its too valuable!"   
"It's dangerous, that what it is."   
"Enough!" Mia interrupted before we could start our discussion anew. "Give it to me, I'll keep it save."  
When I didn't move, she continued, "I promise I won't let Sam destroy it."  
"Do it!" Dean now pushed as well. "That thing you just did... it was scary."  
I had to admit he was right. If it wasn't for Crowley's power still cursing through my veins, it would probably have killed me, despite being only such a small spell I did on an almost daily basis. Fuck.  
With a sigh, I removed the leather band from around my neck and let it fall into Mia's hand. "Please don't loose it."   
"I won't." she let it glide into the front pocket of her jeans.   
And with that, that was settled.   
  
Soon after dinner, Dean and Mia left. Sam and me stayed behind and cuddled up on the sofa. I felt drained and dozed snuggled into the crook of his arm. Kali was sleeping on top of me. A crackling fire was burning in the wood oven, keeping us warm. It was peaceful. Now that the Amulet was gone, there was no more reason to fight. 

**Mias POV**

Okay, Step 1, aquire the Amulet, check.   
Step 2, bring it to the Beast Lord as per his request: still to do, but that couldn't be too hard, right? What would be hard was Step 3, telling the others what she had done. Mia shuddered at the thought of betraying her friends, but it would buy her a few more months of precious protection.   
Was that really worth loosing her friend though?   
She had told Dean she'd stay at her own place this night, to get some sleep for a change. He had seemed bummed, but finally admitted he'd enjoy a night with nothing but sleep too. Keeping each other up every night was taking its toll on both of them.  
Staying home didn't help though. Mia barely got any sleep. Her conscience kept on telling her it was wrong to betray her friend. 

 **Ira's POV**  
  
Magic was up when I woke up next day. Sam was gone. I hadn't heard him leave, but that was no wonder. I had slept like the dead, but now, at least I was feeling like myself again.   
Using the Amulet yesterday evening seemed to have burned the last bits of Crowley's power from my system. I felt purer already.  
Feeling so much stronger had been nice... really nice. I wondered, if there was any way to get more powerful permanently, but quickly shoved that thought out of my head. Thoughts like that usually led down a path that I wasn't willing to go... or was I?   
  
Half an hour later, I was dressed and ready for the day. I unlocked the front door and turned the sign to "open", before walking into the backroom. I had a few orders that would be picked up later today that I hadn't prepared yet, so I prepared those under Kali's scrutinizing gaze. She was obviously remembering the stuff I did, so I told her what I was using and what it was supposed to do. It felt almost like I had a little apprentice I was teaching.  
When I felt a surge of power appear outside, I stopped in my tracks. Crowley. Fuck! Turning around, I saw him standing in front of the glass door and felt him push on my wards.   
"Let me in." he said, his voice muffled by the closed door, but still clearly audible.   
I shook my head, not trusting my voice in that moment. What to do? I looked around for some kind of weapon. I had some holy water in a small bottle on the counter. Would that stop him? Probably not.   
"Let me in, I won't ask again!" His voice was calm, but I knew he was boiling inside.   
"Boy? Come here!" I called, voice shaky. Maybe he could keep Crowley where he was until I could figure something out.  
I felt Crowley's power push against my wards. He could break them for sure.  
Boy came running down the stairs, just as Kali jumped down from my cupboard and took a stance to my left. Boy stood to my right.   
Each of their powers were more of a passive nature, but they'd die trying to defend me.   
Crowley still stood outside, but I felt him push against the wards. It was only a matter of minutes till they broke.   
And then, Magic fell. Just like that. "Are you fucking serious?" I whispered, as my defenses melted away.   
Crowley didn't waste any time. My heart beat a million beats per minute as he entered. Boy bravely ran forward and tried stopping Crowley, his powers were gone though.   
"Do you really think your little pussycat will hold me up?" Crowley asked and kicked Boy aside. I heard his little body crash against something. The pained mew he made nearly broke my heart.   
"Kali stop." I whispered, when she started running to examine what had happened to her friend.   
Crowley was still in the front part of the store. Kali and I were in the back.   
"I don't have the Amulet anymore." I said truthfully.   
"Who has it then?" Crowley said. He was slowly walking towards me. I walked backwards until I hit the big cupboard that took up the entire back wall of the room.  
"I won't tell you. And if you kill me, you'll never know!" I said. My voice sounded breathy, but I saw him realize I was telling the truth.   
"After I'm finished with you, you'll wish I'd have killed you." he was in the backroom now and I had no chance of escaping. Still he didn't stop. "I knew there was something about you when I first laid eyes on you. You have so much potential and don't even realize it, stupid bitch!" he spat. His face was mere inches away from mine and I felt his hot breath on my skin. "I should have killed you after I fucked you the first time. But I let your feminine wiles cloud my mind." He grabbed my chin to force me to look up at him. "I won't make that same mistake again, I promise you that." He seemed eerily calm. It was terrifying.  
I turned my head to the side, squeezing my eyes shut.  
"Where is the Amulet?" he asked.   
I said nothing.   
He squeezed my throat and knocked my head against the cupboard behind me. "Where. is. the. Amulet." he asked again, lifting me off the ground and knocking me against the wood with each word, before letting me fall to the ground. How was he so strong?  
"Do what you want with me, I won't tell you!" I looked up at him, feeling dizzy. The cats were nowhere to be seen. I hoped they were hiding somewhere.   
"I don't think so." he said and an evil grin appeared on his face. He looked around the room and quickly seemed to find what he was looking for. I watched him and my heart fell, when he started walking towards my knifes. He shrugged out of his coat, taking all the time in the world to neatly place it on the counter and roll up the sleeves of his shirt, before taking a big shiny cleaver.   
"What are you gonna do with that?" I asked, moving away from him on hands and knees.   
"Make you wish you were never born!" He walked towards me, smirking, cleaver in hand, and pulled me up to kneeling by my hair, before pushing me over with his foot.   
"Please don't." I whispered, as I lay on the ground before him.   
He bent down next to me, one knee on the ground. "Tell me then."  
"No." I whispered, not sure if I said no to his demand or to what he was about to do.    
He grabbed my left hand and put it flat on the ground.   
"Please don't!" I repeated, half swallowing my words. Teardrops were starting to run down my face.   
"Last chance!" he said and put the cleaver to my hand.   
"Please don't do this! Please!" I begged, my words slurred from crying.   
"3... 2... 1..."  
I screamed in agony as he pushed the knife through my finger like through a piece of sausage. "You fucking asshole!" I shrieked, cradling my bleeding hand in my other as soon as he let go. My pinky finger was laying on the ground.   
"Tell me or we will continue this, until there's nothing left of that hand... and then I'll start with the other one..."  
"Fuck you!" I shouted. Tears were blurring my vision. I didn't dare look at my mutilated hand.   
"Alright then." he pushed me down and grabbed my hand again. "You know, it pains me to destroy something as pretty as you." he said, actually managing to sound sorry.   
He spread out my bleeding hand on the floor again and put the cleaver to my skin once more.   
"Stop it! I will tell you! Please stop it!" I shouted. If that made me a coward, I'd have to live with it. I couldn't take the agony again.   
"That's a good girl!" he said, removing the knife and pulling me up so I was kneeling on the floor in front of him. "Now who has it?"   
"My friend Mia" my voice was barely audible, my whole body was shaking.   
"See! It could have been so easy!" he said. And without another word, he took his coat and left. 


	10. Grand Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big ShowDown!  
> Everyone comes clear about their plans, all the players get together in the same ballpit and with one final explosion, it all comes to an end.

So here I was. Crouching on the floor, crying, cradling my bloody hand and trying to stop the bleeding.  
I knew I should get up and call Mia, but I didn't have the strength just yet.  
I was breathing heavily, despite not moving. My face felt numb, as did my hand. I knew I was going into shock, but I couldn’t remember what to do about it.  
My shirt was soaked through with my own blood. They said to put cut off limbs on ice so they could be reattached, right? I couldn't bear to look at my finger. It seemed too fucking unreal still.  
One thing I could do though.  
"Boy?" I shouted, my voice shaky.  
He made a soft noise in reply, not quite a meow. Okay, he was alive. Good.  
I managed to grab a dish towel from the counter and wrapped it around my bleeding hand, hissing as the cloth touched the open wound. A fresh batch of tears started rolling down my face as realization of what had happened hit me once more.   
"Come here, kitty." I said softly, unable to get up from the ground.  
He limped towards me, not putting any weight on his left front paw. There was blood on his little nose. My heart broke for him. He didn't seem as down as I was though. Without wasting a second, he climbed onto my lap and immediately started purring, stretching to lick the tears from my chin as they rolled down my skin. And people said cats don't show affection...

After cuddling for a while and comforting each other, I started to feel a bit more calm and able to think clearly again. I tenderly took his paw and moved it a bit to check if it was broken. Since he didn’t protest, I decided he wasn’t too bad... hopefully. I’d still have another look once Magic was back up, but for now, there really wasn’t much else I could do for him.

Carefully setting Boy on the floor, wincing at the movement in my left hand, I finally found the strenght to get up holding on to the counter, as getting up had left me a bit light headed.   
I unwrapped my hand over the small sink and poured a generous amount of alcohol over the wound, hissing in pain as the liquid hit my open flesh. Unshed tears blurred my vision for a second, but I told myself I was done crying for today.  
Once I was sufficiently convinced I had killed off all germs, I got a small jar of anesthetic cream from a shelf. My flesh tingled a bit, as I put the cream onto it, from the tiny amount of cocaine that was in it, probably. I’d likely get a bit high as well, but at this moment, I didn’t care. This day was too fucked up to face sober anyways.  
I had just put a small patch of sterile wound dressing onto the bloody stump and tried wrapping up my own hand, onehanded, which turned out to be almost impossible, when the chimes on the door announced a customer.  
“I’ll be with you in a minute!” I shouted and struggled with the bandage a little more.  
“Ira? I smell blood, what happened?” I heard Mia’s voice from the front.  
“Can you come back here and help me with something?” I moved towards her, gauze in hand.  
When she came through the door, she stopped and stared. The bloody meat cleaver still lay on the ground, next to the puddle of my blood. And my shirt was bloodstained as well. It must have been quite a picture for an unsuspecting visitor.  
“Please wrap me up! I can’t do it on my own.” I said, holding out the bandage and my bloody hand towards her.  
“What…? Where’s your finger?” she asked, her eyes widening.  
“I’ll explain everything later… wait. If you’re here… fuck! We have to leave!” If Crowley didn’t find Mia, he’d be back here again soon.  
Mia seemed confused but started wrapping the bandage around my hand. “What happened?” she asked again.  
“Doesn’t matter. We have to go away… I fucked up so so bad!” I didn’t know where to go, but away seemed like a good idea for now. I hoped Crowley wouldn’t hurt the cats if he came back here and found me gone. Shit!  
“Okay, let’s go” I said once Mia finished wrapping up my hand.  
“Ira… TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!” Mia stopped me, putting both her hands on my upper arms.  
“I promise, I’ll tell you in the car!” shaking her off, I grabbed her by the elbow to pull her after me and winced in pain. Note to self: Don’t use left hand for grabbing people.  
“Where to?” she said, finally falling into step next to me.  
“I don’t know.” my heart was racing again and I couldn't think.

“So what happened?” she asked for the third time, once we were in the car. “Who did this to you?”  
“Crowley. He was after the Amulet. I told him you have it. I’m so fucking sorry!”  
Mia swallowed, before turning to look at me. “Umm… actually… I fucked up as well…” she said.  
“What? How?”  
“Well… the Beast Lord, Curran, ordered me to take the Amulet to him. That’s why I took it from you the other day.”  
“This is getting worse and worse.” I whispered.  
“Actually… he promised me his protection if I brought him the Amulet. I bet he’ll protect you as well, if we explain the situation to him. And I mean… you have proof to make him believe you're in danger.” she said, motioning to my maimed hand.  
I looked at it too and something in my chest tightened. Fuck this was so bad. A lump formed in my throat and I had to fight back tears once again.  
“You think he’ll protect me? But I’m not a shapeshifter… why would he care?”  
“Because I think he is a genuinely good person, under all that outer toughness. And his wife is human as well, so…” she trailed off, as she merged onto the highway, having to concentrate on traffic.  
“Well, I hope you’re right.” I sighed and let my head rest against the window. Now that someone else took over, I realized how tired I was.  
“So you’re not going to say anything about me being a shapeshifter?” Mia suddenly roused me from my half slumber.  
“Huh? No, why would I?” I mumbled sleepily.  
“Well, it’s kind of big news, don’t you think?”  
“You do know I can see Magic, right? And the color I see tells me which kind of Magic someone or something has?”  
“Yea, but…”  
“That charm you’re wearing?” I chortled. “It’s hiding your magic to about here.” I made a slashing motion at about elbow height of her right arm.  
“Then why didn’t you say anything?” she seemed confused.  
“Well… you were trying to hide it obviously. I didn’t want to out you.” I shrugged.  
She was silent for a minute and I went back to staring out the window.  
“Thank you.” she murmured.  
“Don’t mention it.”, and then, after a moment’s hesitation, “What animal do you shift into anyways? I’ve never seen that particular color before.”  
“I’m a Squirrel.” Mia said, after letting out a long sigh.  
“A Squirrel?” I repeated, staring at her. “I didn’t know those existed.”  
“Yea… we’re pretty rare. There’s only three of us in town.” she explained, not looking at me.  
“I can make you a much better charm, if you want one, you know…” I offered.  
“That would be nice, thank you.”

 Almost two hours later, I was woken up by the car stopping and Mia gently shaking my shoulder. “Hey, we’re here.” she said. She seemed nervous. So was I.  
The building in front of us was enormous. It was built of rough hewn stone and it looked like a fortress. A kinda misshapen, yet very intimidating fortress.  
“Okay, so do we simply go in or….” I asked, looking at Mia.  
She shrugged. “I’ve never been here before…”  
We didn’t get to discuss our next step more thorough since two burly guys, clearly shapeshifters of some kind, came towards us.  
Slowly, Mia got out of the car, making no sudden movements.  
“I’m Mia Krieger, here to see the Beast Lord.” she said, somehow managing to sound confident.  
“And who’s the human?” the taller one of the guys asked. I thought he was a werebuffalo, but wasn’t quite sure. The sheer size of him would indicate something big like that though. Was it impolite to ask people what they shifted into? I’d have to ask Mia later.  
“That’s Ira Alexis. My friend. We need to talk to the Beast Lord urgently.”  
“What happened to your hand?” the same guy said. Seemed like he was the talker in the team.  
“Got in a fight with the wrong guy.” I said, refusing to elaborate any further.  
“We don’t like having humans here.” he said, accepting my answer.  
“The Beast Lord has offered me protection. Please let me talk to him. Ira is in danger from the same guy as I am.” Mia thankfully left out how it was my damn fault both of us were in trouble.  
“You can come inside.” the talker said to Mia. “The Human stays in the car.”  
  
So here I was, sitting, waiting, in front of a fortress, warily watched by a pair of shapeshifter guards.  
Boredly, I looked around, trying to occupy myself, tracing the DW that Dean scratched into the dashboard of every car he reworked with my right hand.  
Mia had left the Amulet with me for now. I'd have loved putting it on and chanting my finger whole again, but I knew doing that would probably suck my magic dry and kill me.  
The stump had started throbbing again with the anesthetic slowly wearing off.  
I watched the two guards watch me. It was slowly getting dark outside and cold in the car. What were they doing inside?  
If I had a shapeshifter's superhearing, I'd probably be able to listen in. Probably not during Tech though. I had to ask Mia about that too.  
When the two guards suddenly turned towards the door, I knew something was about to happen.  
The door opened and out came a guy whose every moment screamed survivor. He was muscular, but not in a bodybuilder sort of way. His muscles came from hard work and fighting and he moved in a smooth, sleek way that broadcast to everyone who cared to look that he was a cat.  
Mia was hurrying after him and almost had to run to keep up with his long, fast strides.  
I swallowed nervously before opening the door and getting out of the car.  
I wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to act towards him. I was human, so he had no power over me, but he was also the leader and king of about 1500 shapeshifters, largest pack in the country. That was kind of a big deal.  
Slowly, I walked towards him.  
Each of us stopped for a second, when Tech fell and Magic filled our bodies. The Beast Lord's eyes flashed yellow, as he readjusted. Damn, he was powerful. He made me feel a bit dizzy for a second, but I managed to keep on walking towards him without stumbling through sheer willpower.  
Something was tugging at the back of my senses. I tried staying focused on what lay before me though.  
The pair of them had almost reached me when Mia's gaze suddenly filled with fear. She looked to somewhere over my shoulder.  
I turned around and suddenly realized what, or to be more precise who, had been tugging on me. Fuck!  
Crowley was standing next to Mia's car, his Magic blindingly bright once more. With Magic up again, he had easily been able to locate us and transport himself to where we were. And it seemed like he had lost no time in doing so.  
Now what to do? I didn't know what Mia had negotiated with the Beast Lord. Would he help me or just make me give him the Amulet and leave me to Crowley?  
My heart was racing as thoughts ran through my head.  
"Come here." Mia suddenly said and ran towards me past her Alpha, grabbing me by the elbow.  
"Stop right where you are, you bloody cunt!" Crowley cursed from behind me and I felt his power immobilize me.  
Fuck. I was so dead. This was it. He'd kill me. I had no more aces up my sleeve. I looked at Mia and she paled, when she realized I was unable to move.  
"Let her go right this second!" The Beast Lord's voice boomed over us. "She is under my protection."  
I almost peed myself, as a wave of relief washed over me, upon hearing his words. So Mia had managed to make him see reason. I wanted to fall to my knees and kiss his feet in that moment.  
"And why do you think I'd care about that, pussycat? She has betrayed me. I will do with her as I please." With a flick of his fingers, I was thrown to the ground. Too late I realized I could move again and painfully landed on the gravel underneath me, face first. I let Mia pull me to my feet and usher me away from the two men.  
The two guards from the door were nervously walking up and down, but since their Alpha gave no signal, they stayed where they were.  
I didn't care. Mia lead me away from the danger and I mindlessly followed her, absentmindedly patting my jacket pocket, where the Amulet was... or had been.  
I stopped in my tracks.  
"What is it?" Mia asked.  
"It's gone." I whispered, turning around.  
I could see it laying on the ground, where Crowley had thrown me. Could this day get any worse?  
"Let them fight it out between them." Mia whispered. I knew she was right. If we got caught in the crossfire, we’d be killed for sure.  
She pulled me away from the fight and sat me down on the ground at a distance she seemed to deem safe. "Are you okay?" she asked, checking the new scratches on my face.  
I nodded. I hurt, but I was alive. That was more than I had expected a few hours earlier, so I really couldn’t complain.  
  
The King of Demons and the King of Beasts seemed about equally matched.  
Crowley was bleeding from a gash on his forehead, but was healing as I looked at him. The Beast Lord, Curran, as Mia had called him, was panting heavily and moving slowly, obviously fighting against Crowley's powers.  
While I watched, Curran was breaking free of Crowley's hold and ripped into his throat with clawed fingers. If he was human, Crowley would have been dead in a second, but his body was healing almost as quickly as he got injured.  
Without any warning, the Beast Lord was thrown in our direction and Crowley wiped blood and sweat from his face. His clothes, usually meticulously perfect were tattered and torn, with skin and flesh showing through the gashes.  
Each of the two emanated so much raw power, I could barely watch them. My eyes were burning from the sheer exertion it took looking at them and I wished I'd have brought my magical sunshades.  
"Tell me when it's over." I said to Mia, as I turned away.  
She was watching the fight intently, munching on a handful of nuts she had gotten from god knew where. It would have been funny under different circumstances.  
When she flinched, I turned back to watch again. Crowley seemed to have gotten the Amulet from the ground.  
"I'd rather destroy it, than leave it to the likes of you, Demon." Curran spat.  
"It's King of Demons, your Furryness!" Crowley, despite being badly hurt, was not beyond teasing.  
He had the Amulet in his hand and seemed to try to leave, but the Beast Lord was holding him, squeezing Crowley's hand with his own much bigger one.  
The sickening sound of bones breaking made me gag. Crowley's face twisted in pain, as his hand was mashed inside his opponent's and despite the hatred I had for him, I also felt pity.  
Blood was flowing down from their joined hands and suddenly, there was a blinding white light that drowned out everything else. It engulfed the two of them and then exploded outwards, knocking me down on my back, despite sitting on the ground already.  
Someone screamed and I realized it was me.  
I tried shutting up and found, I could do it. Nice. Something I could do, finally.  
Mia was looking at me worriedly. Curran was limping towards us. He didn’t seem too bad though.  
“Leave.” he said, not even stopping his walk. His voice was ice cold.  
“Thank you.” I said, but he didn’t even seem to hear my words. He was halfway back to the Keep already.  
I looked at Mia in confusion. She shrugged and got up from the ground. When the King told you to leave, you obviously did so.  
And just like that, the Amulet of Kabedaya was gone. Not exactly how I hoped this would go down, but at least no one had died. And I still got nine fingers left, so I counted myself lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is how that first part of this story ends.  
> I plan on writing a second part with the same characters, because I have grown quite fond of them.  
> And the ideas just keep on coming. I promise the story will get a bit better... I'll try my best anyways!


End file.
